6^-  ^ 


^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^ 


PRESENTED   BY 

THE  PRESBYTERIAN   BOARD  OF   PUBLICATION 


K  L 


ccC 


"^a^   ^c:^< 


THE 


LIFE  AND  LABOUES 


OF    THE 


Rev.  DANIEL  BAKER,  D.  D. 


PASTOR  AND  EVANGELIST. 


PREPARED    BY   HIS    SON, 


Key.  WILLIAM   M.  BAKEE, 

PASTOR  OF  THE  PRE6BYXEHIAN  CHURCH,  AUSTIN,  TEXAS. 


And  I,  brethren,  when  I  came  to  you,  came  not  with  excellency  of  speech,  or  of  wisdom, 
declaring  unto  you  the  testimony  of  God.  For  I  determined  not  to  know  any  thing  among 
you,  save  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  (rrucifled.  And  my  speech  and  my  preaching  was  not  with 
enticing  words  of  man's  wisdom,  but  in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit,  and  of  power;  that  your 
faith  should  not  stand  in  the  wisdom  of  men,  but  in  the  power  of  God. — 1  Cor.  ii.  1,  2,  4,  5. 


®:[iirb  QEbition. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

PRESBYTERIAN  BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION. 

NO.  821  CHESTNUT  STREET. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1858,  by 
WILLIAM  S.  &  ALFRED  MARTIEN, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Eastern  District 
of  Pennsylvania. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTEK  I. 

FROM   HIS   BIRTH   UNTIL   THE   CLOSE   Or  HIS   CLERKSHIP   IN 
SAVANNAH. 

Ancestry — Plymouth  Church — Arrival  in  America — Colony  sent  South — ■ 
Revolution — Indians — Pious  forefathers — Autobiography  begins — Earli- 
est recollections — The  Orphan's  dream — The  Aunt — First  religious 
impressions — Early  aspirations  in  regard  to  the  Ministry — Visits  Savan- 
nah— Temptations  as  a  clerk — Oration — Death  of  a  companion — Pro- 
cures a  Testament— Way  opens  to  College Pages  13  to  31 


CHAPTER  II. 


WHILE   A    STUDENT   AT    HAMPDEN    SIDNEY   COLLEGE. 

Enters  upon  his  Studies — Desponding  thoughts — Diary — Resolutions — 
Impressive  Sermon — Thomas  Paine — Diary — Unites  with  the  Church — 
Diary — Narrative  resumed — Afflictive  thoughts — Trials  again — Birth- 
day resolves  —  Birth-day  retrospect  —  Sacramental  season  —  Session 
closes — Praying  Society — Diary — Sacramental  occasion — Standard  of 
preaching — War  with  England 32  to  63 


CHAPTER  III. 


WHILE   A    STUDENT   AT   PRINCETON. 

Enters  the  College  of  New  Jersey — Day  of  Fasting  and  Prayer — Revival 
in  College — Students  converted — Reminiscence  of  a  Student — Letter  to 
a  young  Lady — Letter  continued 64  to  77 

3 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

WINCHESTER,    VIRGINIA. 

Goes  to  Winchester — Labours  there — Is  married — Stirs  up  professors — 
His  health — Source  of  energy — Extracts  from  Journal — Day  of  Fast- 
ing— Review  of  the  past — Prospect  of  Licensure — Licensed  to  preach — 
Visits  Alexandria — Correspondence — Visits  Georgia — Preaches  at  Mid- 
way   Pages  78  to  97 


CHAPTER  V. 


HARRISONBURG WASHINGTON   CITY. 

Settles  in  Harrisonburg — Missionary  excursions — Call  to  Savannah  and 
Washington  City — Settles  in  Washington — Excursions  abroad — Corres- 
pondence— Pastoral  labours — John  Quincy  Adams — Loses  his  clerk- 
ship— Works  on  Baptism — Recollections  of  an  Elder — Estimate  of 
character 97  to  116 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PASTORATE    IN    SAVANNAH. 

Call  to  Savannah — Letter  to  Washington  Church — Letter  continued — 
Letter  to  an  Elder  in  Washington — Labours  in  Savannah — Efforts  to  get 
him  back  to  Washington — Correspondence — Autobiography  resumed — 
Special  season — Special  efforts — Correspondence — Autobiography  re- 
sumed— Protracted  meeting — Results  of  meeting — Letter  to  Mr.  Handy — 
Call  to  Washington 116  to  145 


CHAPTER  VII. 

AS   AN   EVANGELIST. 

Meetings  in  Gillisonvillc  and  Gruhamsvillc — Revival  in  Beaufort — Autobi- 
ography resumed — Leaves  Savannah — Becomes  an  Evangelist — Meeting 
in  Tallahaasee — The  political  partisan — Meeting  in  Montgomery — Meet- 


CONTENTS. 


ings  in  South  Carolina — Reminiscences  of  a  Student— "Revival  in  Colum- 
bia  Revival    in    Walterborough — The    Skeptic — Indirect    influence — 

Autobiography  continued — Failure  of  voice — Colloquial  manner — Pas- 
toral visit — To-morrow — Manner  in  pulpit — The  sudden  digression — 
Narrative  resumed — Pecuniary  matters — Marked  providence. 

Pages  145  to  190 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

LABOURS   IN   OHIO — PASTORATE   IN   FRANKFORT   AND 
TUSKALOOSA. 

Labours  as  Evangelist— Narrative  resumed— Letter  to  daughter— Labours 
in  Ohio— Labours  in  Kentucky— Settles  in  Frankfort— Chaplain  to 
Penitentiary — Leaves  Frankfort — Call  to  Tuskaloosa — Old-school  and 
New— Attends  General  Assembly 190  to  208 


CHAPTEK  IX. 

TUSKALOOSA — LABOURS   AS   AN   EVANGELIST — MISSION   TO 
TEXAS. 

Labours  as  Pastor  in  Tuskaloosa— The  prayer-meeting— His  correspond- 
ence— Letters  to  Mr.  Galloway — Accounts  of  meetings — Meeting  of 
Synod — The  dying  convert — Meeting  in  Wilkesbarre — Interview  with 
Dr.  Breckinridge — Autobiography  resumed — Leaves  Tuskaloosa — Meet- 
ings in  Alabama— Letter  from  Memphis— Lines  by  Mrs.  C.  Lee  Hentz— 
Meeting  in  Memphis— Meetings  in  New  Orleans  and  Mobile— Reaches 
Texas — Letters  from  Galveston — Labours  in  Galveston — Enters  the 
interior— Letter  to  little  daughter— Autobiography  resumed — Mission- 
ary labours — Revival  at  Chrisman's  Settlement — The  Texan  Senator — 
First  Presbytery  organized  in  Texas — First  idea  of  a  College— Extracts 
from  Journal— Taken  ill— At  Matagorda — Preaches  again— Embarks  for 
home— Tedious  voyage— Card-players— Home 209  to  267 


CHAPTER  X. 

LABOURS  AS  AN  EVANGELIST PASTORATE  AT  HOLLY  SPRINGS 

Return    home— Little    Agnes — Opinion   of    Texas — Missionary   labour- 
Meeting  at   Hernando — Affectionate   disposition — Love   for   children — 

1* 


CONTENTS. 

Estimate  at  homo — Autobiography  resumed — Journal  of  hibours — 
Southern  Mississippi — Autobiography  resumed — Meeting  in  Nashville — 
Tuscumbia — Pulaski — Summary  of  labours  —  St.  Charles — Habit  of 
prayer — Source  of  power — Hired  for  a  month — Revival  in  Holly  Springs — 
Conversion  of  sons — The  Hundred  dollar  note — sons  at  Princeton — Let- 
ter to  son — Letter  to  wife — Missionary  excursion — Leesb'urg — Knox- 
ville — Summary  of  labours — Heathen  Mythology — Bible  warrant — Home 
life — Advice  to  sons — Dying  Christian — Need  of  preachers — Entangling 
alliances — Papal  baptism — Standard  of  excellence — Lights  and  sha- 
dows— Heartfelt  piety — Letter  to  Mr.  Galloway — Labours  in  Arkan- 
sas   Pages  2G8  to  324 


CHAPTER    XI. 

SECOND    MISSION    TO    TEXAS. 

Autobiography  resumed — Journal  of  Texas  Mission — In  New  Orleans — 
In  Texas — Lavaca — Letter  to  wife — Indian  Point — At  Victoria — Laid 
aside — Various  labours — The  congregation  of  one — The  "naked  hook" — 
The  escaped  Texan — In  arrow -shot — At  Austin — Webber's  Prairie — 
Lagrange — The  Pecan  nut  crop — Lost! — The  white  flag — The  bold  pro- 
test— Instant  in  season — Sowing  by  the  way-side — Impromptu  meet- 
ings— Taking  the  vote — Favourite  maxims — Extempore  contractor — 
Another  maxim — A  grain  of  sense — Clouds  in  good  hands — Narra- 
tive resumed — "Give,  and  feel  it" — Reaches  Galveston — Call  to  Gal- 
veston— Made  a  D.  D. — Courteous  bearing 324  to  381 


CHAPTER    XII. 

FOUNDING    OF   AUSTIN    COLLE(iE — LABOURS   AS    AN    EVANGELIST 
AND   AS   AGENT   OF    THE    COLLEGE. 

In  Galveston — "Wearing  well — The  children's  missionary — A  missionary 
again — First  blow  for  a  College — First  subscriptions — Prompt  steps — 
"  Too  headlong" — Blundering  right — Appeal  to  theological  students — 
The  new  idea — Intention  of  the  College — Sails  for  the  Rio  Grande — 
Mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande — At  Brownsville — Enters  Mexico — Christmas 
Eve  in  Matamoras — Preaches  in  Brownsville — First  on  the  field — Rio 
Grande  City — Use  for  preachers — The  pioneers  of  the  cross — Embarks 
for  Galveston — "Perils   in   waters" — Lands    safely — Austin    College — 


CONTENTS.  7 

Appointed  agent  for  College — Home  letters — New  Orleans — in  Brook- 
lyn— Jenny  Lind — The  liberal  donor — Meeting  in  Philadelphia — At 
Wilmington — At  Savannah — Results  of  first  tour — Leaves  on  his  second 
tour — St.  Louis  Assembly — Synod  of  Texas  created — The  river  storm — 
Keeping  the  Sabbath — Man  overboard— Results  of  second  tour. 

Pages  381  to  434 


CHAPTEE   XIII. 

THIRD   AND   FOURTH   TOURS   AS   AGENT   OF   AUSTIN   COLLEGE. 

Leaves  on  third  tour — At  Charleston — Charleston  Assembly — Grateful 
thoughts — At  Columbia — Labours  blessed — Thankful  emotions^Basket 
meetings — Labours  blessed  of  God — Letter  of  condolence — Heaven  at 
last! — Black  River  churches — Field  thrice  reaped — Williamsburg 
church — Blessed  results — Estimate  of  influence — Indian  Town  church — 
Unimpaired  health — Pressing  invitations — Christian  kindness — Bow 
long  strung — Darlington  church — Longings  for  Home — Darlington  pas- 
tor— Description  of  meeting — Doctrinal  clearness — Statement  of  a  pas- 
tor— Doctrines  of  grace — Union  of  Christians — Results  of  third  tour — 
Robbed — The  cunning  thief — The  discovery — The  pursuit — The  cap- 
ture— Secret  of  effective  preaching — Nephew  shot — Providence  in  all — 
Reaches  home — Enters  a  fourth  tour — In  North  Carolina — Christian 
liberality — Rocky  River  church — Philadelphia  church — Poplar  Tent — 
Concord — Steel  Creek — Overcome — Statesville — Summary  of  labours — 
Presidency  of  Austin  College — Crystal  Palace — Letter  to  a  theological 
student— The  Bible  and  the  heart 435  to  491 


CHAPTER    XIV. 


FIFTH   AND    SIXTH    TOURS    ABROAD,  AND   LABOURS    IN    TEXAS  AS 
AGENT    OF   AUSTIN    COLLEGE. 

Education  convention — State  aid — Leaves  on  fifth  tour — In  Georgia — The 
wise  goat — Good  Hope  church — Greenville— Upper  Long  Cane — New- 
berry— Secret  of  success — Results  of  labours — The  one  cause  of  suc- 
cess— Springing  of  seed  already  sown — Letter  to  religious  Journal — 
Revival  in  Willington — Results  of  this  tour — Opinions  of  others — The 
skeptic  convinced — Not  an  orator — The  Austin  family — The  promised 
donation — At  home  awhile — Favourite  studies — Repugnance  to  fiction— 


8 


CONTENTS. 


Value  set  on  young  raen — Enters  on  sixth  tour — New  York  Assembly — 
More  labourers  needed — Radiation  of  usefulness — Labourer  drawing 
toward  home — Appreciation  at  home — Eastern  Texas — Endowment 
scheme — Giving,  a  grace  of  the  Spirit Pages  491  to  533 


CHAPTER    XV. 


CLOSING   SCENES. 


Texas — Austin  College — His  agency — Contemplated  visit  to  Europe — An- 
nouncement in  Legislature — Remarks  of  Dr.  Kittrell — Grief  in  Hunts- 
ville — Known  abroad — Synod  of  Texas — Church  at  Austin — Arrives 
at  Austin — The  Grandfather — State  aid — Last  Sermon — Angina  pecto- 
ris— Meeting  desired — Last  Sabbath — The  ruling  passion — Last  visit — 
Becomes  worse — Child-like  faith — Perfect  serenity — The  dying  saint — 
Last  words 534  to  560 


PREFACE 


It  would  seem  most  natural  that  the  preparation 
of  this  volume  should  have  devolved  upon  the  Rev. 
Daniel  S.  Baker,  of  Louisiana,  an  elder  brother, 
rather  than  upon  myself,  the  youngest  of  the  family ; 
yet,  for  twenty  years,  I  have  intended,  should  I  sur- 
vive my  father,  to  prepare  such  a  volume.  With 
this  intention  secretly  cherished,  by  urgent  and  long- 
continued  entreaty,  I  prevailed  upon  my  father,  in 
the  rare  intervals  of  a  life  of  incessant  occupation, 
to  write  the  narrative  or  autobiography  which  is  the 
basis  of  this  book — a  narrative,  therefore,  not  pre- 
pared for  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  used,  but  solely 
for  the  gratification  of  his  children.  With  the  same 
object  in  view,  I  have  made  it  a  business,  since  I 
could  first  remember,  to  rescue  from  loss,  in  the 
frequent  removals  of  the  family,  the  various  journals 
contained  herein,  as  well  as  the  letters  of  which  such 
abundant  use  is  made.  Not  only  did  God  put  this, 
as  I  trust,  into  my  heart,  but,  in  his  providence, 
during  the  last  years  of  my  father's  life,  we  were 

9 


10  PREFACE. 

associated  in  ministerial  labours  in  Texas.  The  last 
weeks  of  his  life  were  spent  with  me  in  Austin,  and 
upon  my  bosom  was  pillowed  the  venerable  and 
beloved  head  of  my  father  during  his  last  hours  on 
earth. 

Thus  has  God  devolved  upon  me  the  labour  of 
love  which  I  have  endeavoured  to  perform  in  these 
pages.  No  one  can  wish  more  sincerely  than  myself 
that  this  duty  had  devolved  upon  one  better  quali- 
fied. I  have  derived,  however,  great  help  from  the 
taste,  judgment,  and  other  assistance,  of  an  elder 
brother,  Howard  M.  Baker,  Esq. 

It  was  my  intention  to  have  thanked  by  name  the 
many  friends  who  have  contributed  toward  the  work, 
from  all  parts  of  the  land.  Their  number,  it  is 
found,  forbids  this.  The  good  which  may  be  accom- 
plished by  the  volume  will  be  the  most  acceptable 
reward  to  them  for  their  Christian  kindness — a 
kindness  not  to  the  dead  only,  not  to  myself  only, 
but  to  every  reader  of  this  book. 

There  are  few  who  must  not  be  aware  of  the 
delicacy  of  the  task  here  undertaken.  Hence  my 
object  has  been  to  do  little  more  than  weave  toge- 
ther the  materials  before  me  into  a  continuous  and 
complete  narrative.  As  much  as  possible  I  have 
permitted  others  to  speak,  rather  than  myself;  but 
when  I  have  spoken,  it  has  been  only  iq)on  points 
concerning  which  others  were  ignorant;  and  in  these 
cases,  I  have  expressed  myself  frankly  and  fully.     It 


PREFACE.  1 1 

is  believed  that  this  volume  possesses  an  historical 
value  in  the  annals  of  the  Church. 

From  the  outset,  I  have  looked  to  and  relied  upon 
One  who  is  all-wise,  to  prompt  and  control  and 
guide  my  pen.  This  volume  is  now  sent  forth  along 
the  many  paths  trodden  by  its  subject,  during  his 
life-time  of  sixty-seven  years,  with  fervent  prayer 
that  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  so  accompanied  this 
servant  of  God  during  his  life,  will  also  accompany 
and  bless  this  endeavour  at  a  rehearsal  of  his  Life 
and  Labours,  pressing  home  upon  the  heart  of 
each  reader  such  instruction  as  may  be  contained 
herein. 

Such  as  it  is,  I  place  this  book  humbly,  yet  hope- 
fully, in  the  hands  of  the  Church  of  God,  and  lay  it, 
at  least,  as  my  choicest  offering,  at  the  feet  of  its 
Glorious  Head. 

W.  M.  B. 


LIFE  AND  LABOURS 


OF    THE 


Rev.  DANIEL  BAKER,  D.  D. 


CHAPTER    I. 

FROM    HIS   BIRTH   TILL   THE    CLOSE    OF    HIS    CLERKSHIP   IN 
SAVANNAH. 

As  it  is  one  of  the  most  precious  promises  of  Scrip- 
ture, that  "  the  mercy  of  the  Lord  is  from  everlast- 
ing to  everlasting  upon  them  that  fear  him,  and  his 
righteousness  unto  children's  children,"  it  should 
be  both  a  duty  and  a  delight  to  acknowledge  any 
marked  fulfilment  of  this  gracious  promise.  As  far 
back  as  the  ancestry  of  the  subject  of  this  Memoir 
can  be  traced,  such  fidfilment  of  the  promise  flowed 
down  in  winding  but  deepening  current,  generation 
after  generation. 

From  the  annals  of  the  Midway  church  in  Liberty 
county,  Georgia,  it  appears,  that  "in  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1630,  a  Congregational  church  was 
gathered  at  Plymouth,  in  England,  of  persons  who 
intended  to  come  to  America  for  the  purpose  of 
enjoying  those  religious  privileges,  which  the  mea- 
sures of  Archbishop  Laud  denied  them  at  home." 
Observing  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  to  seek  Divine 
assistance,  they  selected  two  ministers,  who,  accept- 
ing the  office  of  spiritual  guides,  on  the  30th  of 
2  13 


14  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

March  tlie  church  embarked.  In  May  following 
they  were  put  ashore  near  Boston.  Here  they  were 
in  "  a  forlorn  wilderness,  destitute  of  any  habitation, 
and  most  other  necessaries  of  life."  Ascending 
Charles  river,  they  finally  settled  at  a  place  where 
they  began  to  build  a  town,  which  they  named 
Dorchester.  An  historian  of  that  period  bears 
witness  to  the  character  of  this  colony.  "  The  first 
inhabitants  of  Dorchester,"  says  Harris,  "came 
chiefly  from  the  counties  of  Devon,  Dorset,  and 
Somersetshire.  They  were  a  godly  and  religious 
people,  and  many  of  them  persons  of  note  and  figure, 
being  dignified  with  the  title  of  Mr.^  which  but  few 
in  those  days  wore." 

In  October,  1695,  a  church  was  organized  in 
Dorchester,  "with  a  design  to  remove  to  Carolina, 
to  encourage  the  settlement  of  churches,  and  the 
promotion  of  religion  in  the  Southern  plantations." 
Embarking,  after  solemn  religious  services,  the 
church  arrived,  with  its  pastor,  in  Carolina,  on  the 
20th  of  December,  and  formed  a  settlement  upon 
the  Ashley  river,  eighteen  miles  from  Charleston, 
which,  in  memory  of  their  former  home,  they  called 
Dorchester.  This  settlement  proving  unhealthy,  and 
the  quantity  of  land  too  small,  on  the  11th  of  May, 
1752,  three  persons  were  sent  to  Georgia,  who 
selected  a  home  for  the  church  in  Liberty  county, 
as  it  is  now  kno^vn,  at  a  place  called  Midway.  A 
petition  being  prepared,  the  Council  of  Georgia 
made  a  grant  of  thirty-one  thousand  nine  hundred 
and  fifty  acres.  After  many  misfortunes  by  land 
and  sea,  the  whole  church  was  finally  settled  at 
their  new  home,  with  Rev.  Mr.  Osgood  their  pastor. 


D.  D.  15 

in  March,  1754,  the  Baker  and  Bacon  families  of 
the  church  preceding  by  two  years  the  remainder 
of  the  colony.  A  log  church  was  immediately  built, 
and  an  agreement  entered  into  among  the  members. 
It  marks  the  character  of  these  pious  people,  that, 
in  this  agreement,  in  order  to  leave  their  "children 
after  them  compactly  settled  together,"  no  member 
should  "  sell  his  tract  of  land,  or  any  part  thereof, 
to  any  stranger  or  person  out  of  the  Society,  without 
first  giving  the  refusal  of  its  purchase  to  the  So- 
ciety." In  1757,  a  larger  house  of  worship  was 
completed. 

From  the  first,  the  people  engaged  heartily  in 
the  cause  of  their  comitry.  So  obnoxious  did  they 
make  themselves  to  the  British,  that,  in  November 
1778,  a  special  detachment  of  the  British  army 
from  Florida  attacked  the  settlement,  "burned  the 
church  building,  almost  every  dwelling-house,  and 
the  crops  of  rice  then  in  stacks,  drove  off  the  negroes 
and  horses,  carried  away  the  plate  belonging  to  the 
planters,  and  outraged  even  the  graves  of  the  dead." 
A  leading  patriot  among  the  members  of  the  church 
was  Benjamin  Baker.  In  consequence  of  his  zeal, 
his  house  was  rifled  and  burned,  and  himself  and  son 
imprisoned.  There  remains  a  poem  by  this  son, 
descriptive  of  the  invasion,  and  the  bitterness  of  its 
indignation  is  at  the  destruction  of  the  church 
edifice.  On  the  return  of  peace  the  settlement  was 
re-established,  but  during  1788  was  greatly  annoyed 
by  inroads  of  the  Indians.  In  1791,  during  a  visit 
of  Washington  to  Savannah,  the  church  presented  to 
him  an  address,  which,  with  the  answer  of  Washing- 
ton, glows  with  all  the  fire  of  '76.     It  may  be  added 


16  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

here,  that  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  last  war  with 
England,  the  grave  and  godly  members  of  the  Mid- 
way congregation  were  in  the  front  files  of  their 
country's  defence.  During  all  these  years  an  acade- 
my was  maintained  for  the  education  of  the  children 
of  the  church,  and  an  unbroken  succession  of  pastors 
was  kept  up. 

It  was  the  privilege  of  the  writer  of  these  pages 
to  visit,  on  one  occasion,  this  home  of  his  ancestors. 
Seated  in  view  of  the  spot  whereon  this  people  of 
God  had  gathered,  during  so  many  years,  for  the 
worship  of  the  God  of  their  fathers;  under  the 
funereal  moss  which  drapes  the  trees  of  the  ancient 
grave-yard;  upon  a  tombstone  which  records  the 
name  of  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
Memoir  as  a  "worthy  deacon"  of  the  church,  the 
writer  mused  upon  the  history  and  character  of 
the  multitudes  slumbering  around  him  in  Christ. 
They  were  a  race,  the  chief  culture  of  whose 
heart,  conscience,  and  understanding,  was  at  the 
family  altar,  and  in  the  closet;  was  in  the  Sabbath 
sanctuary,  that  central  home  of  their  souls;  was 
in  often  repeated  seasons  of  fasting  and  prayer,  and 
gathered  in  real  as  well  as  outward  brotherhood 
around  the  table  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  With  them 
religion  was  a  matter  of  their  brightest  hopes,  their 
warmest  feelings,  their  deepest  convictions;  it  was 
the  knowledge  in  which  their  servants  and  children 
were  chieiiy  instructed;  the  thing  to  which  they 
instinctively  and  habitually  subordinated  every  thing 
else.  Knowing  all  this  so  well,  the  writer  under- 
stood how,  with  the  blessing  so  often  and  so  fully 
promised  of  God  in  such  a  case,  it  was  but  in  the 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  17 

order  of  things  that  there  should  have  been  trained 
up  there  so  many  holy  men  and  women  serving  God 
in  private  life ;  so  many  ministers  of  the  gospel  to 
serve  God  over  a  vast  empire,  but  just  born  when 
this  spot  was  first  settled;  so  many  servants  of  God 
to  go  thence  to  preach  Jesus,  even  beneath  the  palm- 
trees,  and  beside  the  pagodas  of  heathen  lands.  He 
understood,  too,  how  it  was  that  other  churches 
from  its  bosom  had  grown  up  around  it — daughters 
around  the  venerable  mother;  how  it  was  that  the 
community  must  be  what  it  is  still  to  this  day ;  and 
how  natural  it  was,  under  God,  that  from  such  a 
stock,  and  from  under  such  influences,  should  result 
such  a  man  as  the  one  whose  Life  and  Labours  are 
herein  portrayed. 

This  much  by  way  of  Introduction  to  "  The  Auto- 
biography of  Daniel  Baker,  prepared  for  the  use  of 
his  Children." 

Descended  from  Puritan  parentage,  1  was  bom  in 
Midway,  Liberty  county,  Georgia,  on  the  17th  of 
August,  1791.  My  father  and  my  mother,  both, 
were  for  many  years  reputable  members  of  the  Con- 
gregational church,  which  had  been  planted  as  a 
colony  in  what  is  known  by  the  name  of  the  Mid- 
way Settlement.  Well  do  I  recollect  seeing  the 
ruins  of  their  second  church  edifice — a  frame  build- 
ing on  the  west  side  of  the  road,  and  immediately 
south  of  the  site  of  the  present  grave-yard.  My 
venerated  father  was  for  many  years  a  much  esteemed 
deacon  of  the  Midway  church,  as  was  his  father 
before  him,  both  bearing  the  same  name — William 
Baker.  I  have  no  recollection  of  either  of  my  grand- 
2* 


18  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

parents,  but  have  reason  to  believe  both  died  before 
I  was  born.  My  father  was  married  three  times. 
By  his  first  marriage,  he  had  four  sons  and  three 
daughters ;  by  his  second  wife,  who  lived  but  a  short 
time,  he  had  no  children;  and  by  the  third,  only 
one — a  son,  named  Joseph  Stevens— who  is  still 
alive,  and  a  distinguished  preacher  and  editor,  of 
the  Baptist  denomination. 

I  was  the  last  child  of  my  father  by  his  first  mar- 
riage; and  as  my  mother  took  her  flight  to  heaven 
when  I  was  but  an  infant,  I  never  knew  a  mother's 
smile.  I  have  no  recollection  of  my  father's  second 
wife — but  the  third  I  remember  well,  for  she  lived 
until  I  was  quite  a  young  man.  My  father  died 
when  I  was  about  eight  years  of  age,  and  I  have 
some  recollection  of  him,  but  my  reminiscences  are 
neither  numerous  nor  very  lively.  I  can  well  recol- 
lect, however,  that  he  was  a  tall,  slender  man,  and 
very  erect  and  elastic  in  his  gait.  I  can  recollect 
the  spot  where  stood  the  family  stand,  with  the  large 
old  Bible  upon  it;  and  well  do  I  remember  that  it 
was  our  practice  not  to  kneel,  but  to  stand  during 
family  prayer.  It  was  usual  for  the  whole  family  to 
spend  what  was  called  the  sickly  season  on  Colonel's 
Island;  and  this  was  always  a  very  pleasant  affair 
for  me.  I  recollect  well  the  room  in  which  my 
father  died,  and  that  brother  John  and  myself  were 
playing  under  the  shade  of  a  large  oak,  when  some 
one  came  and  told  us  that  my  father  was  dying ;  and 
it  put  an  end  to  all  of  our  sports.  My  father  when 
first  taken  sick  was  in  some  spiritual  darkness;  but 
his  mind  was  completely  relieved  by  having  this 
passage  of  Scripture  brought  with  great  power  and 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKEK,    D.  D.  19 

sweetness  to  his  soul :  "  For  after  that  in  the  wisdom 
of  God  the  world  by  wisdom  knew  not  God,  it 
pleased  God  by  the  foolishness  of  preaching  to  save 
them  that  behove."  I  recollect  that  this  was  the 
subject  of  much  conversation  in  the  family  after  my 
dear  father  was  laid  in  the  grave. 

Young  as  I  was,  I  felt  the  death  of  my  father 
very  much,  and  very  frequently  would  I,  on  the  Sab- 
bath, go  into  the  grave-yard,  and  look  upon  the 
graves  of  my  parents,  who  were  buried  side  by  side, 
near  the  gate  on  the  right  hand  as  you  enter  into 
the  grave-yard.  I  know  not  how  often,  when  I  was 
a  little  boy,  that  I  visited  the  hallowed  spot ;  nor  can 
I  tell  how  many  tears  I  there  shed;  certainly  it  had 
a  melancholy  but  peculiar  charm  for  me ;  particularly 
as  being  the  resting-place  of  my  dear  mother,  of 
whom  I  had  heard  much,  but  had  never  seen.  A 
poor  little  orphan  boy,  I  would  think  a  great  deal 
about  my  own  dear  mother,  and  wished  that  I  was 
Avith  her  in  heaven.  Sometimes  I  would  look 
around,  and  when  I  saw  other  children  who  had 
mothers  to  love  them,  and  give  them  good  things, 
it  made  me  very  sad  to  think  that  I  had  no  dear 
mother  on  earth,  to  love  me  and  give  me  good 
things.  Sometimes  I  would  take  up  the  idea  that 
nobody  loved  me ;  but  I  thought  if  my  mother  was 
on  earth  she  would  love  me  if  nobody  else  did;  but 
she  was  gone  to  heaven.  "AVell,  I  will  meet  my 
mother  there." 

One  night,  falhng  asleep  probably  more  sorrow- 
ful than  usual,  I  had  a  very  sweet  dream.  I 
thought,  all  at  once,  that  the  room  in  which  I  slept, 
was  filled  with  the  angels  of  God.     In  the  midst 


20  LIFE    AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

of  them  I  thought  I  saw  my  o\vii  clear  mother!  I 
thought  I  knew  her  at  first  sight — my  Httle  heart 
leaped  for  joy.  Pushing  away  the  angels,  I  thought 
I  rushed  towards  my  mother,  and  wanted  to  throw 
my  arms  around  her,  and  tell  her  how  glad  I  was 
to  see  her,. and  that  I  had  never  seen  her  before. 
O,  I  was  happy!  I  was  so  happy!  But  scarcely 
was  I  with  my  mother  a  single  moment,  when  I 
thought  the  angels  began  to  spread  their  wings 
and  rise  from  the  floor! — and  I  would  not  have 
cared  if  every  angel  had  gone  back  to  heaven, 
if  they  had  only  left  my  mother  behind;  but  I 
thought  my  mother  was  an  angel  herself  now;  and 
she  too  had  wings,  and  she  too  began  to  rise  and 
ascend.  Immediately  they  all  began  to  sing  very 
sweetly,  and  while  I  was  looking  on,  they  con- 
tinued to  ascend  and  sing,  until  their  forms  faded 
upon  my  sight,  and  their  voices  were  lost  in  the 
skies.  I  remember  the  tune  which  they  sung  to 
this  day;  and  so  far  as  I  can  recollect,  I  had  never 
heard  it  before;  nor  since,  until  some  twelve  years 
after.  I  heard  it  one  morning  at  family  worship  at 
Dr.  Hoge's,  with  whom  I  boarded,  at  Hampden 
Sidney,  where  I  had  gone  to  prepare  for  the  minis- 
try. This  dream  was  indeed  a  very  pleasant  dream 
for  a  little  orphan  like  myself;  and  the  next  morn- 
ing I  resolved  (if  I  could)  to  meet  my  mother  in 
heaven ;  and  the  idea  of  not  meeting  my  mother  in 
heaven  was  more  than  I  could  bear.  AVhen  I  heard 
the  tune  siuig  in  Dr.  Hoge's  family,  the  very  tune 
which  I  had  never  heard  before,  so  far  as  I  can 
recollect,  except  in  my  dream,  I  confess  it  caused 
the  dream  of  my  childhood  to  rush  upon  my  memory 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  21 

with  great  sweetness;  and  even  to  this  moment  it 
has  a  charm  for  me  which  no  other  tune  ever  had 
or  can  have.  My  dream  made  a  great  impression 
upon  me,  and  my  impressions  were  deepened  by 
my  amit  Margaret  Dunham,  my  mother's  sister, 
who  was  very  pious,  and  with  v/hom  I  was  a  great 
favourite. 

It  would  seem  that  the  heart  of  this  aunt  was 
often  moved  at  the  sight  of  her  little  orphan  nephew. 
On  more  than  one  occasion,  touched  by  his  forlorn 
appearance,  she  took  him  into  her  room,  locked 
the  door  with  a  mysterious  air,  and  then  producing 
a  bag  from  her  chest,  in  which  w^re  the  gains  of 
many  a  long  hour  at  the  spinning-wheel  and  the 
loom,  and  of  many  a  dozen  of  eggs  and  pounds  of 
butter  and  cheese,  she  would  jingle  its  golden  con- 
tents in  his  ear,  with  the  consolatory  remark,  "  Never 
mind — never  mind,  Dan'l,  this  shall  be  yours  when 
I  am  gone."  But,  alas,  how  it  was  is  not  known, 
the  sound  of  the  coin  was  aU  the  advantage  the 
money  ever  was  to  the  nephew. 

A  venerable  lady,  stiU  living,  can  remember  him, 
when  about  eight  years  of  age,  passing  her  door 
every  day  to  the  school-house,  two  miles  distant 
from  his  home,  in  company  with  his  brothers  Wil- 
liam and  John,  and  his  sisters  Rebecca  and  Sally,  all 
older  than  himself.  They  carried  their  dinner  with 
them  in  a  pan,  and,  on  their  return,  little  Dan  was 
almost  invariably  the  bearer  of  the  pan.  She  re- 
members pitying  the  little  fellow,  manfully  trudging 
along,  with  one  hand  supporting  the  dinner-pan,  a 
heavy   one,  and  the  other  nervously   grasping   the 


22  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF   THE 

waistband  of  his  trowers,  there  being  no  suspenders 
in  those  days. 

I  recollect  (the  narrative  proceeds)  one  day  that 
I  wrote  a  friend  a  very  religious  letter,  and  showed 
it  to  my  aunt,  who  read  it  and  bestowed  upon  it 
great  praise ;  but,  although  my  religious  impressions 
were  somewhat  deep,  yet  they  were  not  very  evan- 
gelical, for,  I  recollect,  that  one  day  I  went  out  into 
the  corn-field  and  prayed ;  but  knowing  little  of  the 
hidden  evils  of  my  heart,  I  was  very  self-righteous. 
I  recollect  I  did  not  like  the  prayer  of  the  Publican 
at  all.  This  thing  offended  me,  "  he  would  not  even 
so  much  as  lift  up  his  eyes  to  heaven:" — thinks  I, 
not  even  so  much  as  lift  up  his  eyes  to  heaven! 
that  was  very  wrong!  So  lifting  up  my  eyes,  I 
began  my  prayer,  Pharisee-like,  and  said,  "God,  I 
thank  thee  that  I  am  not  so  bad  as  other  people 
are;"  and  then  left  my  place  of  retirement  very 
much  pleased  with  myself;  sometimes  serious  and 
sometimes  not.  I  thus  went  on  (never  once,  how- 
ever, I  believe,  omitting  my  evening  prayer,  "Now 
I  lay  me  down  to  sleep,")  until  I  was  about  twelve 
years  of  age,  when,  one  Friday  afternoon,  after  get- 
ting my  Shorter  Catechism  lesson  in  school,  I  turned 
over  towards  the  end  of  the  book,  and  read  a  dia- 
logue, in  verse,  between  Christ,  Youth,  and  the 
Demi  This  made  a  very  great  impression  upon  me, 
and  my  serious  impressions,  if  I  recollect  right, 
were  very  much  deepened  by  a  frightful  dream 
which  I  had.  I  thought  I  died  suddenly,  and  woke 
up  in  hell!  The  first  overwhelming  thought  was, 
that  I  was  actually  in  eternity,  and  my  day  of  grace 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  23 

was  over  for  ever!  O,  I  thought  I  would  give  the 
world  if  I  could  only  go  back  to  the  earth,  and  have 
only  one  hour  more  to  seek  salvation  in !  Waking 
up  from  this  awful  dream,  I  was  much  rejoiced  to 
find  myself  in  this  world  once  more ;  but  I  thought 
my  case  was  a  peculiar  one,  and  that  there  could  be 
no  hope  for  me.  I  felt  sure  that  my  brother  John 
would  go  to  heaven,  for  he  was  good,  and  every 
body  loved  him;  but  I  was  very  bad,  and  nobody 
loved  me.  I  much  feared  that  I  should  never  meet 
my  mother  in  heaven,  after  all.  I  did  wish  that  I 
was  a  bird,  or  insect,  or  any  thing  that  had  not  to 
meet  God  in  the  judgment  day!  Before  I  was 
fourteen  years  of  age  I  was  taken  from  school,  and 
living  with  my  eldest  brother,  I  was  much  alone, 
and  was  very  fond  of  reading  religious  books. 

One  day  I  was  thrown  into  a  state  of  great  alarm. 
There  came  up  a  dreadful  storm — one  flash  of  light- 
ning came  after  another  in  such  rapid  succession, 
and  such  loud  thunder  it  seemed  I  had  never  heard 
in  all  my  Hfe.  I  was  alone,  and  expected  every 
moment  to  be  struck  dead.  Very  much  alarmed,  I 
made  a  solemn  vow  that  if  God  would  spare  my  life 
I  would  serve  him  as  long  as  T  lived.  My  life  was 
spared,  and,  thank  God,  my  seriousness  did  not  pass 
away.  About  this  time  my  eldest  brother  was  seen 
to  go  to  a  certain  place  of  retirement  every  evening, 
about  the  going  down  of  the  sun.  I  noticed  it,  and 
suspected  what  it  meant.  This  encouraged  me  in 
my  good  resolutions.  I  was  anxious  about  my  soul, 
but  had  no  one,  about  this  time,  to  speak  to  me, 
except  a  coloured  man  by  the  name  of  Joe,  whom  I 
occasionally  saw  when  I  went  to  Canoochee,  to  visit 


24  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

my  sister  Rebecca.  After  going  on  in  darkness  for 
many  months,  fearing  the  worst,  and  not  knowing 
what  to  do,  I  took  up  the  hymn-book  one  day,  and 
read  the  hymn  beginning  with  these  words: 

"Come,  humble  sinner,  in  whose  breast." 

Coming  to  these  lines, 

«'  But  if  I  perish,  I  will  pray, 
And  perish  only  tliere," 

my  mind  was  made  up.  I  went  out  into  the  grove, 
and  resolved  that  if  I  perished,  I  would  perish  at 
my  Saviour's  feet.  If  I  did  perish,  I  would  perish 
praying.  I  went  out  in  great  distress,  I  returned 
with  great  joy.  In  prayer  my  mind  experienced  a 
sweet  relief;  I  had  new  views  of  my  Saviour,  and 
saw  that  Christ  could  save  even  so  great  a  sinner  as 
I  was.  Frequently  since  then  I  have  thought  upon 
these  words,  as  applicable  to  my  case,  ''  the  darkest 
time  is  just  before  the  da^vn."  I  became  one  of  the 
happiest  creatures  upon  earth,  and  thought  if  I  only 
had  a  little  pair  of  wings,  I  could  fly.  Every  thing 
around  me  seemed  very  lovely;  and  O,  if  I  could 
only  be  a  preacher !  I  recollect  one  evening  walk- 
ing in  the  piazza  at  "Cato's  place,"  so  called — I 
thought  what  a  great  thing  it  would  be  if  I  could  go 
to  College!  But  that  was  a  thing  far  out  of  my 
reach,  and  far  away;  there  was  no  such  good  thing 
for  me. 

The  greatest  favour  I  expected  from  my  brother 
was  that  he  would  one  day  take  me  with  him  to 
Savannah,  some  thirty-five  miles  distant.  I  won- 
dered how  a  city  looked.  My  brother  promised 
that  if  I  woidd  attend  to  a  little  shop  he  had,  that 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  25 

he  would  take  me  to  Savannah  the  coming  winter. 
Time  after  time  I  was  disappointed,  but  finally  the 
period  came ;  my  brother  set  out  with  a  bale  of  cot- 
ton in  a  cart;  and  whilst  he  rode  on  horseback,  and 
a  servant  was  walking  at  the  side  of  the  cart,  I  had 
the  great  privilege  of  riding  upon  the  bale  of  cotton 
in  the  cart.  Mounted  upon  my  elevated  seat,  and 
going  to  see  a  great  city,  of  which  I  had  long  heard, 
I  was  almost  as  happy  as  a  young  king  who  had 
just  mounted  his  throne.  I  w^as  going  to  Savannah! 
I  was  going  to  the  very  place  where  my  father  was 
wont  to  go,  and  from  which  place  he  used  to  bring 
so  many  good  things  in  his  saddle-bags  for  me,  and 
others  left  behind.  Eeaching  the  city  in  the  even- 
ing, I  looked  around  and  wondered  at  the  number 
of  houses  which  I  saw ;  and  some  were  so  fine !  I 
was  not  ashamed  of  the  humble  chariot  in  wliich  I 
had  entered  this  great  city,  and  was  pleased  with 
every  thing  I  saw.  The  next  morning  my  brother, 
having  me  at  his  side,  went  round  to  several  stores 
under  the  blufi",  and  tried  to  get  me  a  situation  as 
clerk,  and  finally,  to  my  great  joy,  succeeded. 

Taken  into  the  dry-goods  and  grocery  store  of  Mr. 
M.,  I  was  very  awkward,  and  was  so  unfortunate  as 
to  misplace  the  key,  which  occasioned  me  immense 
mortification  and  trouble.  After  much  searching, 
however,  the  key  was  found,  and  I  was  once  more 
happy.  Although  awkward,  I  endeavoured  to  please, 
and  soon  found  that  my  employer  liked  me  very 
much,  and  had  so  much  confidence  in  me,  that  some- 
time after,  going  to  the  North  for  goods,  he  left  the 
store  and  all  its  interests  in  my  hands.  I  can  truly 
say,  that  without  the  permission  of  my  employer,  I 
3 


26  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

never  took  a  cent  from  his  drawer,  for  I  was  very 
conscientious.  I  had  great  simpHcity  of  character, 
and  my  moral  and  religious  feelings  were  deeply 
seated  in  my  soul.  Unfortunately,  however,  hearing 
one  day  that  the  body  of  a  murdered  man  had  been 
drawn  out  of  the  river,  I  imprudently  left  the  store 
open,  to  see  the  sight,  and  upon  my  return,  found, 
to  my  consternation,  that  nearly  all  the  silver, 
amounting  to  some  forty  dollars,  had  been  taken  out 
of  the  drawer !  To  this  day  the  thief  has  not  been 
found,  so  far  as  I  know;  but  in  all  probability, 
before  this,  he  has  had  to  answer  for  it  at  the  bar  of 
his  Maker. 

Mr.  M.  had  some  very  excellent  traits  of  charac- 
ter, but  he  was  very  profane,  loose  in  his  morals, 
and,  perhaps,  never  went  to  church.  Having  no 
family  himself,  he  boarded  me  out.  At  this  board- 
ing-house, so  far  as  I  can  now  recollect,  not  one  had 
any  fear  of  God  before  his  eyes;  and  all  the  youths 
with  whom  I  associated,  I  think  with  only  one 
exception,  were  profane,  and  all  desecrated  the  Sab- 
bath. At  first,  I  was  very  much  shocked  at  these 
"  carryings  on,"  and  even  ventured  to  reprove  them, 
but  gradually  I  began  to  look  with  less  horror  upon 
their  conduct;  and  as  "attrition  wears  the  solid 
rock,"  in  process  of  time  I  began,  to  some  extent, 
to  copy  their  example.  I  began  to  neglect  secret 
prayer,  and  would  occasionally  take  a  stroll  into  the 
country  on  the  Sabbath,  instead  of  going  to  church; 
and  sometimes  would  go  into  confectionary  shops 
and  beer-gardens;  but  this  I  consented  to  not 
speedily,  nor  without  many  checks  of  conscience. 
My  companions,  all  of  them  as  I  have  said,  except 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  27 

one,  were  profane,  and  they  would  laugh  at  me  for 
my  religious  turn,  and  would  call  me  "parson." 
This  was  almost  too  much  for  me ;  and  I  recollect 
that  once  I  attempted  to  swear,  but  the  oath  died, 
unuttered,  upon  my  tongue ;  and  so  sharp  were  the 
rebukes  of  my  conscience,  that  I  never  attempted  it 
any  more. 

After  living  mth  Mr.  M.  about  three  years,  I  was 
taken  into  the  employment  of  Messrs.  L.,  cotton  fac- 
tors, who  were  gentlemen  of  high  standing,  and  who 
were  doing  a  fine  commission  business.  This  was 
high  promotion,  but  so  far  as  religion  was  concerned, 
it  brought  no  great  advantage  to  me,  for  although 
the  family  in  which  I  now  resided  was  very  genteel, 
yet  there  was  no  Bible  in  the  house,  nor  any  trace 
of  religion.  Being  now  introduced  into  a  better 
circle,  I  must  needs  become  a  little  more  polished, 
and  therefore  went  to  the  dancing-school:  and  now, 
getting  to  be  a  young  man,  I  soon  bought  me  a  suit 
of  uniform,  and  had  the  honour  of  being  enrolled 
amongst  the  Rangers^  and  of  course,  when  the 
Fourth  of  July  came,  we  must,  like  the  other  volun- 
teer companies,  celebrate  it  with  mirth  and  feasting. 
On  one  occasion,  before  I  became  a  Ranger,  how- 
ever, I  was  appointed  a  Fourth  of  July  orator.  A 
copy  of  my  oration  was  requested  for  publication. 
I,  of  course,  with  all  due  modesty,  yielded,  and  a 
few  days  after,  I  saw  myself  in  print,  as  large  as  life. 
Some  compliments  were  paid,  and  I  began  to  fancy 
that  I  was  a  person  of  some  consequence,  and  began 
to  write  for  the  public  papers. 

About  this  time  I  began  to  enlarge  the  circle  of 
my  acquaintance,  and  attended  several  private  balls. 


28  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

To  crown  tlie  matter,  on  one  occasion,  I  was  made 
one  of  the  managers  of  a  public  ball,  given  by  cer- 
tain young  men  in  the  Exchange ;  and  by  this  time, 
I  confess,  the  tide  of  worldly  feeling  and  worldly 
amusement  had  nearly  swept  me  away;  but  as  the 
providence  of  God  would  have  it,  several  things 
occurred  to  hold  me  in  check.  I  came  very  near 
shooting  myself,  accidentally,  when  out  hunting  one 
day;  and  on  another  occasion,  I  was  upon  the  point 
of  being  drowned,  in  the  Savannah  river,  when 
bathing  on  the  Sabbath  day !  and  to  crown  the  mat- 
ter, I  was  taken  very  sick,  and  within  a  few  hours 
was  brought  very  low,  even,  apparently,  to  the  bor- 
ders of  the  grave.  But  none  of  these  things  so 
wrought  upon  me  as  the  sudden  and  imexpected 
death  of  a  wicked  companion  of  mine.  This  death 
was  announced  from  the  pulpit  by  Doctor  Kollock, 
after  preaching  a  very  eloquent  and  powerful  dis- 
course. I  was  in  church  at  the  time,  and  the  an- 
nouncement came  upon  my  ear  as  a  clap  of  thunder 
from  a  clear  sky.  I  had  been  playing  cards  with 
him  a  few  nights  before ;  he  was  then  the  very  pic- 
ture of  health.  And  is  Vanderlot  dead!  O,  dread- 
fid  !  thought  I ;  he  certainly  was  not  prepared.  And 
what  if  I  had  been  taken!  That  afternoon  I  attend- 
ed his  funeral.  I  will  never  forget  the  occasion;  I 
felt  awful.  My  young  companion  taken  away  in  his 
sins ! — suddenly  and  witliout  warning !  What — said 
I  to  myself,  over  and  over  again — what  if  I  had  been 
taken!  I  was  as  a  blind  man  whose  eyes  had  been 
opened  just  as  he  had  reached  the  brink  of  an  awful 
precipice.  By  the  grace  of  God,  my  soul  was  thor- 
oughly aroused;  my  mind  was  made  up,  and  I  re- 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  29 

solved  that  I  would  no  longer  neglect  the  salvation 
of  my  soul.  I  resumed  private  prayer.  I  wanted  a 
Bible  to  read,  particularly  at  night ;  but  I  had  nei- 
ther Bible  nor  Testament,  nor  was  there  one  in  the 
house.  O,  I  would  be  willing  to  give  almost  any 
thing  in  the  world  for  a  Bible!  "What  was  to  be 
done'?  There  was  a  bookstore  in  the  city,  and  there 
were  Bibles  and  Testaments  there,  but  a  companion 
of  mine  was  there  as  clerk,  and  how  could  I  brave 
his  ridicule.  Night  after  night  I  thought  I  would 
certainly  muster  courage,  but  when  the  next  day 
came,  my  courage  failed.  One  night,  however,  I 
was  in  a  kind  of  agony  because  I  had  no  Bible  or 
Testament ;  and  I  then  firmly  resolved  that  I  would, 
at  all  hazard,  purchase  one  the  next  day.  The  day 
came,  and  as  we  are  told,  it  required  uncommon 
resolution  to  pass  certain  forms,  seated,  as  it  is 
fabled,  at  the  gate  of  Elysium ;  so  it  seemed  almost 
too  much  for  me  to  look  Mills  in  the  face,  and  from 
him  to  buy  a  Testament;  but  I  had  firmly  resolved, 
and  buy  a  Testament  I  would.  In  pursuance  of 
this  resolution,  after  breakfast,  bracing  my  courage 
up,  I  boldly  entered  the  store,  and  said,  "  Mills,  have 
you  any  Testaments  for  salef'  but  quickly  added, 
"  But  I  don't  want  it  for  myself."  What  a  wonder 
the  Spirit  of  God  did  not  leave  me  that  moment! 
What  Bunyan  in  his  Pilgrim's  Progress  has  said 
about  shame,  I  found  to  be  but  too  true.  As  a 
B.angei\  I  could  perhaps  have  looked  an  enemy  in 
the  face  without  flinching;  but  to  do  that  which  I 
believed  would  expose  me  to  ridicule — this  was 
more  than  I  coidd  well  do.  Having  obtained  the 
long  wished  for  prize,  I  bore  it  off  in  secret  tri- 
3* 


30  LIFE    AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

umph.  In  my  estimation  it  was  a  prize  indeed. 
I  suppose  I  would  not  have  parted  with  it  for  ten 
times  what  it  cost.  O,  it  was  a  precious  book  to 
me!  and  I  think  I  could  say  with  Jeremiah,  "Thy 
words  were  found,  and  I  did  eat  them." 

About  this  time  I  recollect  going  to  a  prayer- 
meeting,  and  not  having  courage  enough  to  go  in, 
I  remained  without  in  the  street,  and  was  much 
impressed  by  what  I  heard;  and  now  having  made 
up  my  mind  to  serve  the  Lord  as  long  as  I  lived,  I 
thought,  O  how  I  would  like  to  become  a  minister 
of  the  gospel !  Not  that  I  had  much  spiritual  com- 
fort, but  I  wished  religion  to  be  the  very  element  in 
which  I  should  live,  and  move,  and  have  my  being. 
1  had  enjoyed  religion  once;  I  had  wandered;  I  did 
not  wish  to  wander  any  more.  I  thought  entering 
upon  the  ministry  would  be  a  new  bond  upon  my 
soul.  Indeed,  I  felt  as  if  I  could  be  happy  in  no 
other  pursuit  or  calling.  To  be  a  herald  of  salva- 
tion, this  was  my  chief  desire;  this  was  the  height 
of  my  ambition;  but  I  had  no  education,  and  how 
to  obtain  one  I  knew  not ;  besides  I  was  nearly  nine- 
teen years  of  age.  I  thought  I  was  too  old  to  enter 
upon  a  course  of  learning;  but  even  if  not  too  old, 
the  means — where  could  I  get  the  means'? 

Just  at  this  time,  my  brother  W.  came  to  Sa- 
vannah, and  I  recoUect  that  one  night,  in  the  street 
and  near  the  old  church,  he  and  myself  had  a  long 
talk  upon  the  subject,  and  he  mentioned  a  fact 
which  seemed  very  surprising.  He  said  that  just 
before  he  left  home,  in  liberty  county,  a  letter  had 
been  received  from  the  liev.  C.  Gildcrsleeve,  late 
pastor  of  Midway  church,  stating,  that  spending  a 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  31 

night  with  Dr.  Moses  Hoge,  President  of  Hamp- 
den Sidney  College,  this  very  worthy  man  asked 
him  if  he  knew  of  any  young  man  of  piety  who 
wished  to  enter  the  ministry  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  had  not  the  means;  adding,  that 
provision  was  made  at  that  College  for  the  very 
purpose  of  aiding  such  as  needed  it.  The  circum- 
stance appeared  very  remarkable;  and  the  provi- 
dence of  God  had  removed  one  grand  difficulty  out 
of  ihe  way — but  there  was  another  difficulty;  the 
term  of  my  service  with  my  employers  was  not  out ; 
would  not  be  for  some  eighteen  months.  "What 
was  to  be  done?  One  of  the  firm,  and  the  very 
one-who,  as  I  learned  afterwards,  would  never  have 
given  his  consent  to  release  me  from  my  engage- 
ment, was  absent  at  the  North.  Those  at  home 
finally,  but  with  great  reluctance,  did  consent. 
Thus  was  a  second  grand  difficulty  taken  out  of 
the  way.  There  was  yet  another;  Mr.  G.  F.  P.  and 
myself  were  to  form  a  partnership.  He  had  already 
commenced  merchandizing,  and  I  was  to  become  a 
partner  in  trade  with  him,  so  soon  as  my  engage- 
ment with  the  firm  of  J.  L.  &  Co.  should  come  to 
an  end.  Besides,  Mr.  L.  was  to  do  something  hand- 
some for  me.  This  difficulty,  however,  was  soon 
settled;  and  now  for  the  North  and  a  College!  and 
never,  perhaps,  did  any  creature  ever  enter  upon 
any  new  and  brilliant  career  with  more  delight. 


32  LIFE  AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 


CHAPTEE    II. 

WHILE   A   STUDENT   AT   HAMPDEN    SIDNEY   COLLEGE. 

Searching  among  the  papers  of  his  father,  the 
writer  has  found  the  loose  sheets  of  a  Journal, 
yellow  with  age,  tattered,  and  almost  illegible; 
intended  by  him  who  kept  it  only  for  his  own  eye. 
This  Journal  is  the  more  valuable,  as  it  unveils  the 
inmost  springs  and  emotions  of  his  soul.  Extracts 
from  it  will  be  inserted  as  the  course  of  the  nar- 
rative may  demand. 

The  narrative  proceeds: 

Being  furnished  with  one  hundred  dollars,  (a  part 
of  my  patrimony,)  I  embarked  in  a  schooner,  early 
in  the  summer  of  1811,  for  Baltimore;  and  taking 
a  certain  land  route,  I  reached  Hampden  Sidney 
College,  I  think,  about  the  1st  of  July.  On  pre- 
senting my  letters  to  Doctor  Hoge,  he  received  me 
with  great  kindness,  and  I  and  two  or  three  other 
young  men,  candidates  for  the  ministry,  were  taken 
into  his  house  as  boarders.  I  took  up  the  Latin 
grammar  for  the  first  time,  and  entered  upon  my 
studies  with  great  zeal.  I  recollect  I  studied  very 
hard ;  and  for  a  length  of  time  I  had  a  dark  circle 
around  my  eyes.  It  was  customary  with  me,  for  the 
sake  of  exercise,  to  walk  three  miles  every  day, 
except  the  Sabbath;  one  mile  in  the  morning,  one 
at  noon,  and  one  in  the  evening.  This  kind  of  exer- 
cise was  of  no  service  to  me;  for  I  would  employ 
much  of  the  time,  whilst  walking,  in  committing  to 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  33 

memory  some  speech  or  lesson ;  and  sometimes  upon 
returning,  I  would  throw  myself  upon  the  bed,  com- 
pletely exhausted  both  in  body  and  in  mind.  One 
day  after  studying  very  hard,  I  caught  hold  of  the 
limb  of  a  tree,  to  swing;  the  next  thing  I  knew,  I 
was  lying  prostrate  upon  the  groimd,  my  head 
downwards  on  the  slope  of  a  hill.  How  long  I 
remained  unconscious  I  know  not.  This  seemed  a 
serious  affair,  but  it  did  not  abate  my  ardour  in 
study.  I  was  now  turned  of  nineteen  years,  and  I 
had  no  time  to  lose. 

I  recollect  that  near  this  time  I  was  for  about 
two  or  three  weeks  in  a  state  of  great  despondency. 
I  found  it  hard  to  commit  the  Latin  grammar  to 
memory;  and  by  reason  of  several  things,  I  thought 
I  never  could  be  made  a  preacher — never  would  be 
able  to  preach  to  any  white  congregation  in  any 
place.  One  day,  being  greatly  discouraged,  when 
in  a  state  of  the  deepest  despondency,  all  at  once — 
and  I  recollect  it  well — all  at  once  the  idea  flashed 
across  my  mind,  that  there  are  many  negroes  in 
the  land,  and  perhaps  I  might  be  able  to  preach  to 
the  negroes !  This  was  a  new  and  happy  thought. 
It  cheered  me  greatly,  and  in  one  moment  my 
despondency  left  me,  and  I  resumed  my  studies 
with  new  life  and  pleasure.  At  this  time  I  formed 
an  acquaintance  with  several  interesting  young  men, 
who,  equally  with  myself,  had  the  ministry  in  view. 
Amongst  these  was  one  of  uncommon  loveliness  and 
piety,  W.  C.  W.,  who  became  my  bosom  friend. 
Our  natural  dispositions  were  widely  different,  and 
yet  our  friendship  was  very  much  like  that  of  David 
and  Jonathan.     Our  correspondence,  when  absent, 


34  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

was  unreserved  and  of  long  continuance;  our  letters 
would  make  a  large  volume. 

I  had  not  made  any  public  profession  of  religion 
before  leaving  Savannah,  and  after  reaching  Hamp- 
den Sidney  College,  I  was  for  a  length  of  time  in 
great  spiritual  darkness,  even  on  the  borders  of 
despair.  I  remembered  my  broken  vows,  and  all 
my  wanderings  in  Savannah,  and  seriously  feared 
that  I  had  sinned  away  my  day  of  grace.  The  un- 
pardonable sin!  The  unpardonable  sin!  I  was 
very  much  afraid  I  had  committed  that;  but  one 
day,  reading  a  book  called  "Russel's  Seven  Ser- 
mons," I  met  with  a  sentence  in  the  last  sermon 
which  gave  me  great  comfort.  It  was  to  this  effect, 
that  if  a  man  has  any  serious  concern  about  the  sal- 
vation of  his  soul,  and  has  any  tender  thoughts  in 
relation  to  the  Kedeemer,  that  was  proof  positive 
that  he  had  not  committed  the  unpardonable  sin. 
Immediately  my  burden  was  gone,  every  cloud  was 
scattered,  and  my  feelings  became  most  delightful. 
It  was  like  the  beauty  of  spring  after  a  long  and 
dreary  winter.  I  had  new  views  of  my  Saviour,  felt 
that  I  could  rest  upon  him,  and  was  enabled  to 
rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.  The 
question  has  since  been  often  started  in  my  mind, 
When  was  I  converted'?  At  what  particular  place 
and  time]  Was  it  in  Midway,  or  Prince  Edward] 
Was  it  when  I  was  about  fourteen,  or  when  I  was 
about  nineteen]  The  conclusion  to  wliich  I  have 
come,  after  much  thought,  is,  that  it  was  when  I 
was  in  Midway,  about  fourteen  years  of  age.  I  am 
strongly  inclined  to  think  that  in  early  youth  I  was 
converted,  and  having  wandered,  was,  in  early  man- 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  35 

]iood,  happily,  through  abounding  grace,  brought 
back  to  the  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  my  soul. 

Breaking  off  from  the  narrative,  we  turn  to  his 
journal,  commencing  as  follows: 

Sunday^  August,  1811.  I  purpose  committing  to 
paper  the  most  remarkable  incidents  of  my  life,  my 
reflections  thereon,  and  those  resolutions  the  several 
occasions  may  suggest,  in  order  that  I  may,  with 
greater  advantage,  frequently  review  my  life  and 
renew  my  resolutions ;  that  I  may,  by  the  assistance 
of  divine  grace,  be  stimulated  to  the  active  exercise 
of  every  Christian  virtue,  and  with  unwearied  dili- 
gence aspire  to  greater  attainments  in  piety  and 
usefulness.  And  may  the  God  of  grace,  who 
strengthens  the  weak  by  the  invigorating  influences 
of  his  Holy  Spirit,  on  which  alone  I  would  rest, 
enable  me  to  benefit  by  these  feeble  means,  and 
strengthen  me  to  a  faithful  compliance  with  such 
resolutions  as  he  may  dispose  me  occasionally  to 
make. 

1.  Resolved,  That  I  am  too  prone  to  indulge  in 
improper  levity  in  conversation;  that  in  future  I 
will  endeavour  to  avoid  every  wicked  sally  of 
mirth  or  pleasantry,  particularly  on  the  Lord's 
day. 

2.  Resolved,  That  I  much  too  highly  estimate 
my  oratorical  attainments;  that  I  am  too  fond  of, 
and  too  apt  to  court,  vulgar  applause;  that  I  will 
endeavour  to  think  meanly  of  myself,  and  make  it 
my  supreme  object  to  obtain  the  approbating  smiles 
of  my  God,  and  that  of  my  own  conscience. 

3.  Resolved,  That  I  will  frequently  pray  to  Al- 
mighty God  to  point  out  aU  my  vices  and  foUies, 


S6  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

and  supplicate  his  grace  to  dispose  me  to  turn  from 
them. 

Sunday^  September  1th,  1811.  This  day  Dr.  Hoge 
preached  a  sermon  eminently  calculated  to  arouse 
saints  to  a  clear  evidence  of  their  interest  in  the 
covenant  of  grace.  After  divine  service  I  retired  to 
pour  out  my  warm  desires  before  my  prayer-hearing 
God. 

Sunday  Evening,  Novemher  11th,  1811.  This  day 
being  deprived  of  the  outward  church  ordinances, 
the  second  meeting  of  a  praying  society  was  held  at 
Dr.  Hoge's,  attended  by  the  teachers  and  six  or 
eight  students ;  a  solemn  attention  was  given  by  all, 
and  there  were  some  who  appeared  peculiarly  af- 
fected in  the  several  exercises  of  praying  and  sing- 
ing; in  fine,  it  seemed  manifest  that  our  gracious 
Saviour  had  condescended  to  be  in  the  midst  of 
us.  *  *  *  *  Satan,  begone !  I  am  now  your  inve- 
terate foe,  and,  by  the  grace  of  God,  I  trust  I  ever 
will  continue  irreconcilable  to  you.  "Get  thee 
behind  me,  Satan !"  I  have  made  an  unreserved,  a 
cheerful  surrender  of  myself  and  all  that  I  possess 
to  my  la^vful  Prince,  and  I  cannot  recall  my  words. 
Assail  me  now  no  more  with  your  insidious  darts, 
for  Jesus,  in  whom  alone  I  trust,  has  already  van- 
quished you,  and  will,  I  humbly  liope,  give  me 
strength  to  overcome  all  your  efibrts  to  destroy  my 
soul.  Yes,  adorable  Jesus!  I  am  thine — soul  and 
body — all  thine.  I  would  again  renew  the  solemn 
covenant  I  made  with  thee;  keep  through  thine 
own  name  what  I  have  committed  unto  tliec  until 
the  decisive  day.  I  am  of  myself  weak  and  helpless, 
and  would   become   an   easy  victim   to   the  subtle 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  37 

enemy,  but  do  thou  arm  me  with  thy  grace,  and  1 
shall  triumph  over  all  his  machinations,  over  all  his 
efforts  to  subjugate  my  soul  to  base  captivity.  O, 
gracious  Lord!  I  pray  thee,  leave  me  not  one 
moment  to  myself,  but  let  "thy  rod  and  thy  staff" 
comfort  and  protect  me,  while  I  pass  through  "the 
howling  wilderness  of  life,"  and  finally  bring  me  to 
that  happy  state  where  my  soul  shall  no  longer  be 
harassed  and  distressed  by  the  assaults  of  the  evil 
one,  but  where  I  shall  unite  my  voice  with  thy 
saints  above  in  for  ever  celebrating  the  praises  of 
redeeming  love. 

Sunday,  December  22d,  1811.  Alas!  how  cold, 
how  insensible  my  heart.  I  read  and  meditate,  but 
no  sweet  emotion  warms  my  soul.  With  what 
strange  indifference  do  I  view  the  compassions  of 
the  Iledeemer ;  how  slightly  do  I  estimate  his  love  ; 
how  languid  my  spiritual  graces;  how  joyless  do  I 
pass  the  moments  of  this  sweet  day  of  rest;  how 
unlike  the  calm  and  sweet  delight  I  have  frequently 
enjoyed  in  humble  converse  with  God  on  his  holy 
Sabbath.  Alas !  this  hard,  this  sinful,  this  stubborn, 
rebellious  heart  of  mine,  that  has  caused  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  withdraw  his  influences ;  that  has  provoked 
the  blessed  God,  and  caused  him  to  hide  his  face 
from  me.  My  once  sweet  and  consolatory  evidences, 
where  are  they'?  All  have  disappeared,  and  thick, 
gloomy  darkness  hovers  over  my  soul.  O,  when 
will  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  again  rise  to  dispel 
these  thick  mists,  and  shine  resplendent  upon  my 
benighted  mind;  again  to  animate  and  enliven  my 
languishing  spirit  by  his  cheering  influences!  O, 
hasten,  bright  morning,  when  I  may  again  view  the 


38  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

sweet  smiles  of  a  reconciled  Redeemer !  Dear  Lord ! 
I  would  humble  myself  before  tliee,  and  patiently 
wait  thine  appointed  time;  but  in  the  mean  time, 
O  stir  me  up  to  renewed  diligence ;  may  I  be  more 
devout  in  thy  worship;  may  I  not  faint  nor  be  cast 
down,  though  I  go  mourning  without  thy  presence. 

0  may  this  lead  me  to  deeper  humility,  deeper 
repentance  for  sin;  may  it  lead  me  to  see  my  abso- 
lute dependence  on  thee  for  all  my  comforts  and 
enjoyments,  as  well  as  strength  and  support;  and 
O,  blessed  God!  in  thy  good  time,  lift  upon  me  the 
light  of  thy  countenance,  pardon  my  many  and 
aggravated  sins,  and  cause  my  soul  to  "rejoice  with 
joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory,"  through  the 
riches  of  grace  that  are  treasured  up  in  Christ 
Jesus. 

4.  Resolved^  That  I  am  but  too  much  subject  to 
sinful  passions,  inconsistent  with  that  meekness  and 
gentleness  positively  enjoined  by  the  meek  and  lowly 
Jesus;  that  I  will  endeavour  to  get  the  better  of 
them,  and  keep  them  all  under  proper  subjection. 

5.  Resolved^  That  I  am  too  prone  to  envy  others 
more  eminently  pious,  or  in  more  favourable  situa- 
tions ;  that  this  is  wicked  and  must  not  be  indidged, 
but  that  I  will  endeavour,  as  much  as  may  be  in  me, 
to  imitate  their  good  qualities. 

6.  Resolved^  That  I  am  not  sufficiently  zealous  in 
the  cause  of  Christ;  on  that  account  it  shall  be  my 
indispensable  duty  frequently  to  pray  that  I  may  feel 
a  more  lively  interest  in  the  prosperity  of  Zion,  that 

1  may  be  inspired  with  a  pure,  ardent,  and  unabating 
zeal  in  so  glorious  a  cause. 

Sunday  Evening,  January  19  th,  1812.     This  day, 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKEE,    D.  D.  39 

after  much  coldness  and  insensibility  of  heart,  it 
pleased  God  to  revive  my  spirits,  and  grant  me 
sweet  comfort  and  refreshment  in  attending  upon 
our  praying  society.  I  would  desire  to  return  the 
Great  Fountain  of  all  mercies  my  humble  and  sin- 
cere thanks  for  the  establishment  of  this  society, 
inasmuch  as  he  has  made  it  so  beneficial  to  my  soul, 
and  that  of  my  fellow-members,  and  has  permitted 
sweet  delight  and  comfort  frequently  to  flow  from  it, 
to  water  and  refresh  our  thirsty  souls. 

Simdai/,  P.  3f.,  February  2d,  1812.  This  day  Dr. 
Hoge  preached  in  College  Hall,  from  Micah  vi.  9, 
last  clause — "Hear  ye  the  rod,  and  who  hath  ap- 
pointed it;"  designed  chiefly  to  improve  the  late 
calamitous  conflagration  of  the  Richmond  theatre,  in 
which  perished  about  an  hundred  souls.  Although 
this  affliction  was  so  recent,  and  of  so  awful  a  na- 
ture; although  the  discourse  was  so  pathetic  and 
applicable ;  although  the  transitory  and  uncertain  na- 
ture of  all  sublunary,  and  the  reality  and  importance 
of  eternal  things  were  exhibited  so  clearly  and  im- 
pressively, yet  all  could  not  move  my  flinty  heart — 
cold,  dull,  languid,  and  insensible,  I  retired  from  the 
house  of  worship.  O  for  the  animating  and  invigo- 
rating influence  of  the  blessed  Spirit,  without  which 
I  find  all  my  precious  privileges  will  be  of  no  avail, 
will  but  increase  the  load  of  my  already  accumulated 
guilt.  O  Lord!  let  not  thy  wrath  consume  me  as  a 
cumberer  of  the  ground,  but  O!  do  thou  touch  my 
heart  as  with  a  coal  from  off  thy  altar;  quicken  my 
drowsy  powers,  and  make  my  heart  to  be  easily  im- 
pressed with  thy  word,  thy  providences,  and  thy 
Spirit. 


40  LIFE  AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

Saturday  Evening,  February  15th,  1812.  It  has 
always  been  my  decided  opinion  that  I  should  be 
ever  active  and  vigilant  to  discover  and  embrace 
every  opportunity  to  benefit  my  fellow-men,  how- 
ever trifling  in  appearance,  however  faint  might  be 
the  hope  of  success ;  for  as  God's  ways  are  above  our 
ways,  and  his  thoughts  above  our  thoughts,  who 
knows  but  he  might  cause  the  feeblest  effort  to  be 
powerful,  to  be  of  resistless  energy,  and  to  be  pro- 
ductive of  the  most  happy  consequences.  Thus  im- 
pressed, and  having  learned  a  few  days  since  that 
my  friend  and  fellow-student,  Mr.  T.  C,  was  un- 
happily infected  with  the  principles  of  infidelity, 
I  borrowed  from  him  that  pernicious,  and  infectious, 
and  impious  book,  entitled- "*' Thomas  Paine's  Age 
of  Reason,"  intending  to  peruse  it  throughout,  and 
then  return  it,  accompanied  with  suitable  remarks, 
reflections,  and  friendly  admonitions.  It  came  to 
hand — I  commenced  reading  it;  but  disgust  and 
horror  deterred  me  from  proceeding  very  far.  O, 
Paine!  Paine!  imhappy  wretch!  what  could  have 
induced  you  thus  to  have  prostituted  your  shining 
talents^  If  you  were  infected  with  such  odious 
principles,  why  not  keep  them  to  yourself]  Why 
disseminate  them  to  corrupt  youth,  embitter  old  age, 
and  fill  the  vaults  of  despair  with  thy  infatuated 
votaries'?  Thanks  to  God  for  the  commentary  of 
thy  death  on  thy  works ;  may  it  please  Him  to  un- 
nerve the  strength  of  thy  subtle  reasonings,  and 
avert  the  fatal  consequences  to  which  they  lead!  I 
closed  the  book  and  returned  it  with  a  letter,  the 
"  Christian  Panoply,^''  and  my  fervent  prayers. 

Sunday,  March  Sth,  1812.     Dr.  Hoge  in  a  lecture 


RET.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  41 

delivered  this  evening,  took  occasion  to  introduce 
the  present  state  of  Christianity  in  the  East  Indies, 
when,  to  my  inexpressible  surprise  and  satisfaction, 
he  mentioned  a  glorious  discovery  that  has  very 
recently  been  made,  of  nearly  half  a  million  of  true 
Christians  in  that  land  which,  hitherto,  I  considered 
as  almost  wholly  enveloped  in  the  darkness  of  hea- 
thenish ignorance.  These  Christians,  it  appears, 
have  never  participated  in  the  corruptions  of  the 
church  of  Rome,  but  have,  happily,  preserved  their 
faith  inviolate,  as  delivered  by  the  Apostle  Paid  and 
primitive  Christians.  O  my  soul!  rejoice  in  the 
Lord,  and  sing  praises  to  his  name  for  his  marvellous 
loving-kindness  in  preserving  a  chosen  remnant  to 
himself  undefiled,  whilst  the  great  mass  had  degene- 
rated into  superstition  and  abominable  idolatries. 
How  pleasing  must  this  discovery  have  been  to  the 
faithful  missionaries  zealously  labouring  in  the  vine- 
yard of  Christ!  How  must  it  rejoice  the  hearts  of 
all  who  love  the  prosperity  of  Zion !  Methinks  this 
should  cheer  up  and  inspire  with  lively  hopes  the 
humble  believer  weeping  for  the  desolations  of  the 
Church.  This  bears  a  flattering  appearance;  me- 
thinks I  behold  the  dawn  of  a  glorious  day  bright- 
ening in  the  East.  O  arise,  Sun  of  Ilighteousness ! 
speedily  arise,  and  usher  in  the  splendours  of  that 
day  when  pure  and  undefiled  religion  shall  prevail 
throughout  the  world,  and  God  shall  dwell  on  earth 
again. 

Sunday.     This  day  I  finished  the  perusal  of  With' 

erspoon  on  Regeneration,  a  work  which  has  afibrded 

me  peculiar  dehght  and  satisfaction.     I  think  I  have 

derived  much  advantage  from  it ;  let  it  be  my  care 

4* 


42  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

to  recommend  it  to  others,  and  may  God  always 
accompany  it  Avith  his  blessing  by  whomsoever  it 
may  be  read.  In  considering  the  characteristics  of  a 
regenerate  person,  as  there  and  in  other  works  laid 
down,  and  in  carefully  examining  my  heart,  I  think 
I  have  experienced  some  saving  change,  have  had 
some  sweet  evidences  of  an  interest  in  my  Saviour's 
love.  O  rapturous  thought!  how  vain,  empty,  and 
insignificant  are  all  earthly  enjoyments  when  com- 
pared with  the  enjoyments  of  a  reconciled  God  and 
Saviour.  Poor  ^vretches,  who  feed  on  the  vile  husks 
of  this  world,  when  there  are  s"uch  riches  treasured 
up  in  Christ  Jesus!  O  how  wonderful  is  it  that 
God  should  have  called  upon  me — me,  so  vile  and 
imgrateful  a  rebel,  to  feed  on  the  rich  dainties  of  his 
love,  while  so  many  others  have  been  passed  by!  O 
it  was  free,  sovereign,  discriminating  grace !  What 
shall  I  render  to  God  for  his  marvellous  love  in 
making  me  to  be  a  monument  of  the  riches  of  his 
grace,  when  I  deserved  to  have  been  a  monument  of 
his  wrath!  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul!  and  never 
cease  to  magnify  and  adore  his  holy  name.  Lord, 
may  I  henceforth  live  devoted  to  thee — live  unre- 
servedly to  liim  who  hath  loved  me  and  given  him- 
self for  me.  O  Lord,  I  think  I  sincerely  hate  all 
sin,  enable  me  for  the  future  to  resist  more  vigor- 
ously its  assaults.     I  think  I  love  thee  unfeignedly; 

0  enable  me  to  increase  more  and  more.     O  Lord, 

1  long  to  praise  thee  in  more  noble  strains.  O  teach 
my  heart  and  my  lips  unceasingly  to  praise,  magnify, 
and  adore  thy  name,  so  long  as  I  have  any  being. 
O  Lord,  my  heart  is  very  deceitfid — preserve  me 
from  deceiving  myself     "Search  me,  and   try  me, 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  43 

and  see  if  there  be  any  wicked  way  in  me,  and  lead 
me  into  the  way  everlasting."  Let  me  not  rest  with 
any  attainments,  but  may  I  continually  press  forward 
in  the  divine  life;  may  I  daily  become  more  and 
more  assimilated  to  thine  own  glorious  image,  and 
more  and  more  ripe  for  thy  enjoyment  hereafter. 

Sunday,  April  12th,  1812.  This  day  cold  and 
languid  in  my  exercises ;  how  unlike  a  short  time 
since,  when  the  candle  of  the  Lord  shone  upon  me; 
when  I  had  those  comforting  evidences  of  an  interest 
in  the  love  of  Christ;  when  I  took  such  delight  in 
the  worship  of  my  God;  w^hen  T  thought  my  heart 
was  fixed.  Ah,  then  I  was  too  confident.  I  said  in 
my  heart,  my  mountain  stands  strong,  I  shall  never 
be  moved;  but  God  has  humbled  me,  and  shown  me 
that  if  he  hide  his  face  I  must  be  cast  down;  if  he 
w^ithdraw  the  influences  of  his  blessed  Spirit,  my 
heart  must  become  callous,  my  prayers  and  medita- 
tions must  be  insincere  and  improfitable.  O,  Lord, 
for  the  Redeemer's  sake,  remember  not  my  provoca- 
tions against  thee,  but  be  pleased  again  to  lift  upon 
me  the  light  of  thy  reconciled  countenance;  again 
shed  abroad  in  my  heart  thy  blessed  Spirit;  and 
cause  me  for  the  future  to  have  my  life  and  con- 
versation more  holy,  heavenly,  and  conformed  to  thy 
will. 

The  narrative  proceeds: 

Having  obtained  peace  in  believing,  the  next 
thing  was  to  "join  the  church,"  but  what  church'? 
My  eldest  brother  and  my  only  sister  had  become 
Baptists,  and  for  some  time  my  mind  was  not  at  rest 
in  relation  both  to  the  proper  mode  and  subjects  of 
baptism.     Dr.  John  Mason's  Essays  on  "  The  Church 


44  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

of  God,"  poured  much  light  upon  my  mind,  and 
being  now  at  rest  in  this  matter,  I  made  application 
to  Dr.  Hoge,  who  was  at  that  time  pastor  of  the 
"  College  Church,"  and  was  received  by  him.  I,  for 
for  the  first  time,  on  Sabbath,  the  19th  of  April, 
1812,  sat  down  at  the  sacramental  board.  It  proved 
a  memorable  season  to  me,  and  I  believe  to  many 
others. 

Journal. — Well,  at  length  I  have  dismissed  my 
scruples  ;  I  am  the  Lord's.  Next  Sabbath  I  hope  to 
celebrate  the  dying  love  of  my  dear  Redeemer.  I 
have  applied  for  admission,  and  I  am  now  to  seal 
my  covenant  with  the  Lord  by  that  solemn  ordi- 
nance— why  nof?  I  have  long  ago  made  a  surren- 
der of  myself  to  him;  I  think  he  possesses  my 
supreme  affections,  why  should  I  delay  to  make  this 
pubhc  confession  of  my  love  to  him  who  died  for 
me'?  Jesus  invites  me  to  his  table,  to  feed  on  the 
rich  dainties  of  his  love,  although  I  am  unworthy  of 
the  least  crumb;  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord,  I  will 
humbly  approach  his  table,  that  my  soul  may  be 
refreshed,  that  it  may  rejoice  as  with  "marrow  and 
fatness."  O,  what  sweet,  what  unspeakable  deHght 
do  I  hope  to  enjoy  at  that  banquet  of  love.  O  for  a 
heavenly  frame  of  mind.  O  that  I  may  be  clothed 
with  the  resplendent  robes  of  Christ's  righteousness, 
that  when  the  King  shall  come  to  view  his  guests, 
[  may  not  be  found  wanting  a  wedding-garment. 
O,  my  soul!  I  charge  thee,  diligently  prepare  for 
solemnizing  thine  espousals  to  Christ,  thy  Kedeem- 
er;  avoid  every  thing  that  may  cool  thy  affections, 
or  unfit  thee  for  so  solemn  an  approach  to  him.  I 
charge  thee,  O  my  tongue!  to  keep  silent  before  the 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  45 

wicked,  to  restrain  thy  frowardness ;  to  exercise  thy- 
self alone  to  the  glory  of  God;  this  week  especially 
let  "holiness  to  the  Lord"  be  inscribed  on  every  sen- 
tence thou  dost  utter;  and,  especially,  O  thou  wicked 
and  corrupt  heart,  I  charge  thee,  to  leave  off  thy 
vain  and  sinful  practices;  to  spurn  the  wicked  sug- 
gestions of  Satan;  to  invite  in  and  cherish  profitable 
thoughts  and  reflections;  that  thou  grieve  not  God's 
Holy  Spirit  to  withdraw.  And  now,  O  Lord,  I  am 
weak  and  helpless — I  would  implore  strength  of 
thee  to  carry  into  execution  my  resolutions.  O  dear 
Jesus!  prepare  me  for  celebrating  thy  dying  love; 
may  this  week  be  a  week  of  humiliation,  self-exami- 
nation, and  fervent  devotion.  O  enable  me  to  live 
nearer  thee  than  I  have  ever  yet  done.  O  give  me 
some  suitable  sense  of  my  sinfulness  and  unworthi- 
ness,  and  of  thy  matchless  love ! 

Sunday^  April  19^^,  1812.  This  day  arose  some- 
what earlier  than  usual,  in  order  better  to  prepare 
for  the  exercises  of  the  day;  worldly  cares  happily 
banished,  and  tranquillity  of  mind  reinstated,  my 
soul  looked  up  to  God  with  longing  desires  for  sweet 
communion  with  him;  experienced  considerable  en- 
largement of  soul  in  my  morning  devotions,  although 
I  had  not  as  bright  views  of  the  excellencies  of  Christ 
as  I  wished,  yet  he  was  graciously  pleased  to  discover 
himself  unto  me  as  the  "chief  among  ten  thousand, 
and  altogether  lovely;"  altogether  worthy  my  supreme 
affections,  my  implicit  confidence ;  in  fine,  just  such 
a  Saviour  as  I  and  all  perishing  sinners  stood  in  need 
of.  O !  how  precious  a  Redeemer  has  God  provided 
for  his  rebel  enemies;  "bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul!" 
An  excellent  sermon  was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  C. 


46  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

Read,  after  which  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
was  administered.  The  courts  of  God's  sanctuaiy 
were  on  this  occasion  crowded  with  "the  excellent 
of  the  'earth;"  many,  very  many  of  God's  dear  chil- 
dren surrounded  his  board.  O,  what  a  happy  sight! 
what  a  glorious  company!  O,  what  amazing  grace 
and  condescension  in  God,  that  he  should  have 
invited  me  to  share  the  rich  dainties  of  his  children; 
that  he  should  have  permitted  me  to  come  to  his 
table,  and  to  taste  and  feel  how  precious  Jesus  is. 
Surely  "his  banner  over  me  was  love."  O,  how  I 
love  thee,  dear  Saviour!  but  how  cold  is  the  warm- 
est emotion  of  my  heart,  when  compared  with  thy 
love  to  me,  who  only  merit  thy  hatred  and  detesta- 
tion. Surely  thy  love  is  unprecedented,  unparalleled. 
O,  that  thy  love  may  be  shed  abroad  in  my  heart; 
that  it  might  kindle  mine,  and  cause  it  to  burn  with 
all  the  ardours  of  heavenly  affection.  On  a  similar 
occasion  I  do  not  recollect  ever  having  seen  com- 
municants more  deeply  impressed,  more  affected;  all 
seemed  to  feel  deeply  a  sense  of  their  unworthiness, 
and  the  love  and  compassion  of  Christ,  and  gave  vent 
to  their  feelings  by  tears  and  sobs;  and  even  my 
heart  was  melted.  O  what  a  sweet  frame  to  be  in, 
with  genuine  repentance  to  mourn  over  sin;  to  have 
the  soul  drawn  out  in  love  to  Jesus;  to  weep  at  the 
foot  of  the  cross;  surely  it  is  an  enjo}Tiient  worthy 
an  immortal  soul;  surely  it  is  the  gate  of  heaven. 
Thanks  be  to  God  for  the  rich  provisions  of  this  day. 
Another  sermon  was  preached  by  Mr.  Rice,  which, 
with  a  short  exhortation  by  Dr.  Hoge,  closed  the 
public  exercises  of  the  day. 

And   now,  my  soul,  remember  thou  hast  again 


KEY.  DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  47 

solemnly  renewed  thy  covenant  to  be  tlie  Lord's; 
recollect  thou  hast  made  an  entire  surrender  of  thy- 
self to  Him  who  hath  redeemed  thee  from  hell — no 
clause  of  reservation;  thou  hast  devoted  thyself 
wholly  and  unreservedly  to  Him  who  hath  bought 
thee  with  a  price,  an  inestimable  price,  even  with  the 
precious  blood  of  the  Son  of  God;  then  let  it  be  thy 
care,  thy  business,  thy  ardent  desire  to  glorify  Him 
with  all  thy  powers.  O,  my  soul,  he  is  not  a  hard 
master  thou  hast  now  to  serve;  O  no!  "His  yoke  is 
easy,  and  his  burden  light."  His  service  is  delight- 
ful ;  recollect  the  sweet,  the  inexpressible  satisfaction 
thou  hast  sometimes  heretofore  experienced  in  wait- 
ing upon  Him,  and  let  that  animate  thee;  let  the 
love,  and  the  kindness  and  condescension  of  thy 
Master  quicken  thy  diligence.  And,  O  my  soul! 
recollect  that  soon  thou  wilt  become  a  disembodied 
spirit;  and  if  thou  shalt  have  acted  thy  part  faith- 
fully here,  then,  O  then,  what  joys  await  thee!  Thou 
shalt  then  behold  the  unveiled  glories  of  the  Lamb; 
him  who  died  for  thee,  and  whom  thou  dost  so  dearly 
love,  and  dost  so  ardently  pant  for  the  enjoyment 
of — even  he  shall  sweetly  smile  on  thee,  and  welcome 
thee  to  those  happy  seats  of  never  ending  joys,  and 
will  introduce  thee  to  his  Father,  and  then  thou 
shalt  be  completely  happy.  O  then,  my  soul,  be  not 
discouraged  nor  cast  down;  manfully  endure  afflic- 
tions, trials,  and  hardships,  for  the  love  of  Christ; 
cast  thy  cares  upon  him ;  he  cares  for  thee,  is  willing 
to  undertake  for  thee,  to  be  thy  surety  for  good.  O, 
then,  give  thyself  up  wholly  to  his  mercy,  guidance, 
and  direction;  be  careful  not  to  grieve  his  blessed 
Spirit,  but  ever  pray  for  strength  to  live  nearer  him, 


48  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE. 

and  to  obey  all  his  commandments,  which  are  surely 
all  holy,  just,  and  good;  then  may  you  confidently 
hope  that  he  will  keep  you  from  falling,  and  finally 
"present  you  faultless  before  the  presence  of  his 
glory  with  exceeding  joy." 

Narrative  resumed: 

After  this  most  solemn  ana  memorable  occasion, 
for  a  considerable  length  of  time,  (with  some  inter- 
ruption,) I  seemed  to  bathe  in  the  love  of  God,  as  in 
the  sunlight  of  heaven.  Frequently  would  I  go  out 
into  the  woods  to  meditate  and  to  pray,  and  not 
unfrequently,  my  soul  being  as  the  chariots  of  Am- 
minadib,  I  would  in  my  soHtary  walks  break  out  into 
expressions  of  delight,  and  would  for  some  considera- 
ble time  go  humming  these  and  similar  words,  "■  Vic- 
tory! Glory!  Alleluia!"  Filled  with  zeal  and  love, 
I  had  my  heart  greatly  drawn  out  towards  my  fellow- 
students.  I  conversed  with  some,  I  wrote  to  others, 
and  invited  many  to  come  to  the  prayer-meetings, 
weekly  held  in  the  house  of  the  President;  and  I 
believe  that  my  efforts  to  do  good,  in  various  ways, 
were  not  in  vain. 

The  following  extracts  from  his  journal  will  dis- 
close the  exercises  of  his  mind  at  this  period: 

Sunday^  May  \Oth.  Last  week  cruelly  harassed 
and  tossed  about  with  temptations.  Satan,  as  a 
roarin^f  lion,  sou":ht  to  devour  me.  I  was  cast  into 
despondency ;  God  hid  his  face ;  my  soul  was  trou- 
bled and  shrouded  in  gloomy  darkness.  I  was 
powerfully  tempted  to  doubt  the  providence,  nay, 
the  very  existence  of  God;  my  heart  too  boiled  up 
with  impure  thoughts;  I  was  "in  much  heaviness 
through  manifold  temptations."     O  the  tyranny,  the 


RET.  DANIEL    BAKER,    D.  D.  49 

cruel  tyranny  of  sin!  Then  I  knew  what  it  was  to 
cry  out  in  anguish,  "O  wretched  man  that  I  am! 
who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death?' 
Rom.  vii.  24.  Blessed  be  God,  through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord,  who  has  this  morning  in  some  measure 
scattered  the  thick  darkness  that  brooded  over  my 
soul.  This  day  I  have  enjoyed  much  sweet  conso- 
lation in  the  courts  of  his  sanctuary;  my  thirsty, 
parched  soul  was  refreshed  from  on  high.  O  my 
soul,  look  back  and  bear  in  grateful  remembrance 
how  often  God  hath  timely  visited  thee  with  gracious 
smiles,  when  thou  w^ast  faint,  languid,  and  almost 
overpowered  by  the  assaults  of  the  wicked  one.  Be 
encouraged,  for  he  is  a  shield  and  buckler  to  all  that 
put  their  trust  in  him.  Trust  him  then,  O  my  soul; 
he  will  never  leave  thee  nor  forsake  thee,  if  thou 
wilt  always  affectionately  cleave  to  him,  and  never 
apostatize  from  him.  Blessed  be  God  for  his  many 
precious  promises  to  his  poor,  weak  creatures.  Bless 
the  Lord,  O  my  soul! 

I  have  been,  and  am  now,  sorely  exercised  in  the 
furnace  of  affliction;  the  hand  of  God  lays  heavy 
upon  me;  I  would  wish  to  be  resigned;  I  would 
wish  to  kiss  the  rod  that  smites  me ;  but,  alas !  how 
rebellious  is  my  heart;  how  prone  am  I  to  murmur 
and  repine.  O!  what  sweet  and  consolatory  com- 
forts are  administered  to  the  afflicted  in  the  twelfth 
chapter  to  the  Hebrews.  There  I  learn  that  afflic- 
tions are  sent  by  a  kind  and  compassionate  Being,  to 
subserve  some  important  purpose.  "  AVhom  the  Lord 
loveth  he  chasteneth."  Yes,  my  soul,  thou  art  chas- 
tened for  thy  protit ;  then  be  comforted,  be  tranquil 
and  submissive.  Great  God,  grant  me  resignation! 
5 


50  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

O  bring  all  my  powers  into  sweet  subjection  to  thy 
divine  will;  let  me  only  glorify  thy  name  in  my 
afflictions,  and  I  am  content. 

Sunday^  June  28th.  In  the  review  of  last  week,  I 
discover  many  things  for  which  I  have  cause  to  be 
deeply  penitent  and  humbled.  One  thing  I  would 
now  record,  is,  that  I  permitted  my  passions  to  get 
too  great  an  ascendency  over  me  on  Friday  evening 
in  the  polemic  society;  my  expressions  to  Mr.  W. 
were  unbecoming  the  relations  we  sustain  to  each 
other.  His  frank,  forgiving  disposition,  raised  him 
much  in  my  estimation.  Let  it  be  my  diligent 
care  to  imitate  him  in  all  those  mild  Christian 
virtues  which  appear  so  excellent  and  amiable  in 
him,  and  which  so  well  adorn  the  character  of  a 
Christian. 

Mr.  L.  preached  this  day,  from  Isaiah  xxvi.  20,  21, 
a  sermon  admirably  adapted  to  the  existing  state  of 
our  national  affairs,  war  having  been  been  so  recently 
declared  against  Great  Britain.  Now  we  are  espe- 
cially called  upon  to  obey  the  injunction  of  the  text, 
to  flee  to  Christ,  our  only  hiding  place  against  the 
wrath  of  God  and  the  fury  of  man.  O  that  God 
would  overrule  the  present  perils  and  afflictions  of 
America  to  his  honour  and  glory,  and  the  advance- 
ment of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom. 

This  day  too  cold  and  lifeless  in  the  worship  of 
God;  not  sufficiently  humble  nor  importunate  in 
prayer ;  made  but  a  poor  improvement  of  the  privi- 
leges of  the  day.  O,  if  the  heart-searching  God 
should  strictly  mark  my  shortcomings,  I  must  be 
condemned;  but  there  is  an  all-sufficient  Saviour; 
Jesus  alone  is  my  hope,  my  righteousness,  and  the 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  51 

Rock  of  my  salvation.  O  that  I  might  praise  him 
more  highly,  and  love  him  more  sincerely ! 

Sunday^  August  2d^  1812.  How  languid  and 
heartless  in  my  devotions!  How  few  affectionate 
thoughts  do  I  have  of  my  Saviour  and  my  God! 
Hosannas  languish  on  my  tongue.  In  the  distress 
of  my  soul  I  cry  unto  the  Rock  of  my  salvation,  but 
I  find  no  comfort;  my  soul  longs  and  pants  for  sweet 
communion  with  God;  but,  alas!  my  flinty  heart 
remains  callous  and  unimpressed  in  reading,  in  medi- 
tation, and  prayer.  I  do  not  feel  the  melting  and 
enlivening  influences  of  a  Saviour's  love  beaming  on 
my  soul.  I  am  as  a  wretched  outcast — my  sins — my 
accumulated  sins  have  separated  between  my  God 
and  my  soul.  O  where  shall  I  find  him  against 
whom  I  have  sinned,  but  whom  I  would  still  love. 
Dear  Jesus!  it  is  thy  blood — thy  peace-speaking 
blood  alone  that  can  bring  me  near  to  God;  that  will 
cause  him  to  smile  upon  me.  O  lead  me  to  thy 
Father,  for  I  am  poor  and  ignorant,  blind  and 
naked!  How  dim  my  views  of  spiritual  things! 
How  little  do  I  know  of  God,  my  Maker  and  Re- 
deemer. O,  Spirit  of  light  and  love,  descend;  give 
me  understanding,  illumine  my  benighted  mind; 
unveil  to  my  adoring  view  the  lovely,  the  transcend- 
ent beauties  of  Emmanuel,  that  my  soul  may  be 
drawn  out  in  love,  supreme  love  to  him. 

Birthday.  Monday,  August  11  th,  1812.  Another 
year  has  now  rolled  away,  and  I  still  continue  in 
the  land  of  the  living,  a  monument  of  God's  great 
mercy;  and  now,  my  soul,  where  art  thou'?  What 
advances  hast  thou  made  in  the  divine  life]  What 
new  conformity  to  the  image  of  thy  Redeemer'? 


52  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

In  the  review  of  the  last  year  I  find  many  things 
to  weep  and  lament  over;  many  follies,  many  sins 
and  backslidings  to  lay  me  low  in  repentance  and 
hnmility,  and  I  likewise  find  many  things  for  ador- 
ing love  and  augmented  gratitude  to  God.  After  a 
careful  examination,  I  think  I  can  discover  that  I 
have  (through  Christ  strengthening  me)  made  some 
progress  in  my  heavenly  course.  I  find  that  impetu- 
ous, imperious,  and  malignant  passions  do  not  exer- 
cise that  tyranny  over  me  which  they  did;  by  divine 
influences  they  have  been  in  a  measure  restrained, 
and  brought  into  sweet  captivity  to  the  obedience  of 
Christ. 

I  find  I  have  been  led  to  discover  more  and  more 
the  excellence  and  necessity  of  humility,  and  that  I 
have  been  enabled  to  practise  it,  although  in  a  very 
imperfect  degree. 

I  find  I  have  become  somewhat  more  resigned 
under  afiiictive  dispensations,  but,  alas!  I  am  still 
too  prone  to  murmurings  and  repinings. 

I  find  that  my  love  to  God  has  increased  a  little, 
O  that  it  might  be  more  intense!  and  that  my 
knowledge  in  spiritual  things  has  been  somewhat 
augmented,  and  my  faith  in  Christ  and  belief  in 
revelation  strengthened;  but  I  must  even  now  say, 
and  mourn  for  it,  that  I  know  but  little  of  the  char- 
acter and  perfections  of  God,  that  I  have  but  dim 
views  of  the  beauties  of  Emmanuel;  this  I  would 
bewail,  and  pray  to  have  clearer  "\dews  of  God  my 
Saviour,  clearer  views  of  the  plan  of  redemption. 

I  think  I  have  had  better  apprehensions  of  the 
nature,  excellence,  extent,  and  spirituality  of  the 
divine  law;  I  think  I  have  been  convinced  that  the 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  53 

commandment  is  holy,  just,  and  good,  perfectly  rea- 
sonable, and  admirably  conducive  to  the  highest 
interests  of  man. 

I  think  I  have  discovered  that  it  is  an  evil  and  a 
bitter  thing  to  sin  against  God,  and  that  sin  is  incon- 
ceivably hateful  and  malignant,  as  committed  against 
the  best,  the  most  beneficent,  the  most  compassion- 
ate, as  v^^ell  as  the  greatest  of  beings ;  and  that  I,  as 
a  vile,  guilty  wretch,  deserve  his  heavy,  everlasting, 
and  righteous  displeasure. 

I  think  I  have  had  better  views  of  my  absolute 
need  of  a  Saviour,  of  the  suitableness  of  Christ,  and 
have  had  more  affecting  views  of  his  amazing  love 
and  compassion  to  poor,  helpless,  condemned  sinners. 

0  what  a  precious,  precious  Redeemer,  God  has  pro- 
vided for  man!  O  my  soul,  praise,  magnify,  and 
adore  the  name  of  God,  who  made  and  redeemed 
thee! 

I  think  I  have  been  much  more  heavenly-minded, 
enjoy  greater  delight  in  meditating  on  God  and  on 
divine  things ;  for  all  these  things  I  do  now  humbly 
acknowledge  God  as  the  only  author,  to  whom  be  all 
the  praise  and  glory.  I  feel  a  conviction,  which  I 
need  not  disguise,  that  of  myself  I  am  prone  to  evil ; 
that  I  cannot  change  my  heart  nor  disposition;  that 

1  cannot  do  a  single  good  action;  while  at  the  same 
time  I  would  acknowledge  the  good  hand  of  God,  if 
I  have  been  enabled  to  make  any  real  advances  in 
the  divine  life.  I  would  desire  to  be  deeply  humbled 
for  the  slowness  of  my  progress,  my  great  short- 
comings, and  the  misimprovement  of  many  precious 
privileges. 

I  have  experienced  many  vicissitudes  of  heavenly 
5* 


54  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

affections  during  the  last  year;  sometimes  the  Hght 
of  God's  countenance  beamed  upon  me,  which  let  in 
sweet  comfort  and  joy  into  my  soul;  at  other  times, 
under  the  hidings  of  God's  countenance,  under  the 
heavy  pressure  of  temptations  and  afflictions,  my 
enjoyments  were  dried  up,  and  I  went  sorrowful. 
Sometimes,  but  especially  about  the  first  of  Spring,  I 
had  clear  manifestations  of  the  love  of  God,  brighter 
hopes  of  a  joyful  immortahty.  At  one  time  in  parti- 
cular, I  would  gladly  have  breathed  out  my  soul  in 
the  arms  of  my  Redeemer;  for  about  a  month  at  a 
time,  I  thought  "to  depart  and  to  be  with  Christ 
would  be  far  better,"  yet  I  felt  sweetly  resigned  to 
await  my  appointed  season.  At  other  times,  heavy 
clouds  hung  over  my  soul,  and  shed  a  dismal  gloom 
on  all  things.  I  began  to  imagine  all  my  former 
experiences  to  be  mere  delusions;  that  I  had  never 
cordially  closed  in  with  the  terms  of  the  gospel 
never  truly  repented;  never  sincerely  loved  my  God 
my  views  were  low,  my  hopes  almost  extinguished 
but,  blessed  be  God,  even  in  these  seasons  of  dark- 
ness and  distress,  God  did  not  utterly  forsake  me ; 
some  ghmmerings  from  above  would,  now  and  then, 
cast  a  bright  though  transient  gleam  into  my  soul, 
and  I  was  enabled  to  persevere.  Always  wait  upon 
the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  for  though  in  anger  he  may 
hide  his  face  for  a  short  season,  yet  his  loving-kind- 
ness will  he  not  utterly  take  from  thee. 

And  now  as  I  am  entering  on  another  year,  O 
Lord,  I  would  enter  on  it  only  in  thy  strength;  I 
would  commit  to  thee  my  way.  Be  pleased  to  order 
it  in  mercy;  guide  me  by  thy  counsels;  secure  me 
by  thy  grace.     O  give  me  nearness  of  access  to  thee. 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  55 

O  may  I  make  greater  attainments  in  holiness,  and 
every  Christian  grace;  may  I  Hve  more  devoted  to 
thee  the  ensuing  year  than  I  have  ever  yet  done,  for 
Christ's  sake.     Amen. 

Sunday^  August  23d.  I  have  this  day  seen  the 
table  of  the  Lord  spread;  with  a  longing  appetite  I 
approached  it.  I  hope  the  Lord  prepared  my  heart 
for  that  solemn  ordinance.  I  had  some  views  of  the 
glories  of  Christ;  of  his  amazing  love  to  guilty,  per- 
ishing men ;  and  I  think  I  had  some  sweet  evidences 
of  cancelled  guilt,  of  an  interest  in  his  love.  O  that 
the  impressions  then  made  upon  my  mind  might  be 
permanent;  that  the  resolutions  I  then  made  might 
be  strictly-  attended  to ;  and  that  at  the  celebration  of 
each  ordinance  I  might  find  myself  always  advancing 
from  one  degree  of  holiness  to  another  in  the  Lord. 

Friday,  September  26th,  1812.  Our  summer  ses- 
sion terminates  this  day;  this  morning  I  shall  accom- 
pany my  friends,  the  M's,  to  their  rural  seat;  proba- 
bly I  shall  spend  the  chief  portion  of  this  vacation 
abroad.  My  chief  object  for  laying  aside  my  studies 
at  this  time,  is  that  I  may  recreate  my  body,  relax 
my  mind,  and  invigorate  my  strength,  in  order  bet- 
ter to  prepare  me  for  resuming  my  studies  in  the 
winter  session.  To  this  purpose  may  the  Lord 
sanctify  my  recreations. 

This  session  closes  in  sweet  tranquillity;  students 
all  united  in  harmony  and  affection.  I  love  and 
respect  all  my  fellow-students,  but  feel  a  peculiar 
attachment  to  Mr.  Boiling.  How  many  pleasing 
hours  have  I  passed  with  him  lately!  Not  long 
since  he  was  as  wild,  thoughtless,  and  profane,  pro- 
bably, as  any  student  at  the  Seminary;  but,  blessed 


56  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

be  God,  for  a  fortnight  passed  there  has  been  a 
great  and  visible  change  in  him  for  the  better.  He 
no  longer,  as  formerly,  glories  in  his  wickedness,  but 
at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  as  a  repentant  prodigal,  he 
mourns  over  his  past  follies.  By  frequent  conversa- 
tion with  him,  I  find  his  impressions  are  strong  and 
rational,  such  as  I  have  abundant  reason  to  believe 
have  been  made  by  the  Holy  Spirit;  and  such  as,  I 
trust,  have  already  or  shortly  will  issue  in  a  saving 
and  happy  conversion.  O  may  he  be  more  and  more 
enlightened,  strengthened,  and  animated;  may  he 
be  cheered  with  some  sweet  evidence  of  cancelled 
guilt ;  of  an  interest  in  the  blood  of  atonement.  His 
first  impressions  were  made  at  our  praying  society; 
what  encouragement  to  persevere  in  prayer  and 
supplication!  From  his  lately  being  much  in  my 
company,  some  of  the  students  have  taken  occasion 
to  call  him  ''Baker's  disciple f'  if  I  thought  this 
was  really  the  case,  I  fear  I  should  be  pufi*ed  up 
with  pride.  O  what  joy  must  it  afi'ord  a  pious 
minister  to  be  the  means  of  the  conversion  of  one 
precious  soul!  The  students  have  endeavoured  to 
laugh  Mr.  Boiling  out  of  his  religious  notions,  but  he 
has  been  supported.  He  appears  daily  to  acquire 
new  strength  and  firmness.  Blessed  be  God,  for 
this  trophy  of  redeeming  grace!  I  hope  it  may 
have  a  happy  influence  on  others.  I  hope  many 
more  may  taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is  gracious. 

A  letter  I  wrote  to  Mr.  A.  some  time  ago,  I  have 
some  reason  to  believe  was  not  altogether  unservice- 
able to  him.  He  appears  somewhat  impressed;  may 
God  carry  home  conviction  to  his  heart,  and  that  of 
many  others,  and  raise  up  a  seed  at  this  Seminary 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  57 

to  serve  him,  and  to  show  forth  the  praises  of 
redeeming  love.  O  that  I  knew  how  I  might  best 
promote  the  eternal  interests  of  my  fellow-students, 
who  are  likewise  my  fellow-immortals ! 

Sunday,  December  lUh,  1812.  A  goodly  number 
of  the  pious  students  of  this  Seminary  have  united, 
(prompted,  I  hope,  by  a  pure  and  fervent  zeal,)  and 
have  formed  a  praying  society,  to  be  held  every 
Sunday  afternoon,  in  this  neighbourhood,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  poor,  ignorant,  and  too  much  neg- 
lected negroes.  O  may  God  command  his  blessing 
to  rest  on  this  little  organization,  and  grant  that  it 
may  be  a  nursery  of  piety  and  vital  religion.  Our 
first  meeting  was  held  last  Sabbath;  the  audience 
was  quite  small,  and  I  am  grieved  to  say,  but  too 
careless  and  inattentive;  the  number  was  increased 
this  day;  a  few  white  people  likewise  attended. 
Mr.  D.  H.  exhorted  last  Sunday  and  this,  tolerably 
appropriate.  O  for  fervent,  prudent,  unremitting 
zeal,  that  each  of  us  may  discharge  our  several 
duties  with  fidelity,  earnestness,  and  afi'ection!  O 
that  God  would  bless  these  our  labours  of  love  to 
our  own  edification,  and  the  happy  conversion  of 
some  one  precious  soul;  how  amply,  how  bounti- 
fully would  our  toils  and  hardships  be  recompensed. 

0  for  more  love  to  God,  more  and  more  zeal,  more 
and  more  heavenly -mindedness. 

Sunday,  December  22d,  1812.  O  what  a  painful 
void  do  I  feel  in  my  soul !    Cheerless  and  disquieted, 

1  read,  and  meditate,  and  breathe  out  my  broken 
petitions;  my  heart  is  hard,  insensible,  and  but  too 
far  estranged  from  my  God.  I  do  not  experience 
that  sweet  calmness,  serenity,  and  elevation  of  mind, 


58  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

which  I  recollect  sometimes  to  have  felt.  Few  are 
the  joys  which  spring  up  in  my  soul.  I  have  not 
that  nearness  of  access  to  God,  nor  do  I  now  have 
that  sweet  communion  with  him,  which  have,  at 
some  favoured  seasons,  shed  abroad  in  my  soul  a 
joy,  a  peace,  which  the  stranger  intermeddles  not 
with.  Ah !  how  bitter  is  it  to  live  under  the  hidings 
of  God's  face;  how  dreary  and  comfortless  to  the 
soul  to  feel  no  warm,  cheering,  and  enlivening  beam 
of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness ;  and  now,  O  my  soul, 
whose  fault  is  it  that  thou  dost  now  mourn,  art  dis- 
quieted and  disconsolate,  and  art  not  rather  drink- 
ing in  those  pleasures  which  Christ  has  promised  to 
every  thirsty  soul]  Let  God  be  cleared,  and  thou 
brought  to  lie  low  in  the  dust  of  humiliation  and 
repentance.  It  is  but  too  true  thou  hast  been  but 
too  careless,  formal,  and  negligent,  in  the  pursuit 
of  the  one  thing  needful;  thou  hast  been  but  too 
remiss  in  the  grand  duty  of  self-examination;  hum- 
ble thyself  before  thy  God;  look  to  the  cross  of 
Christ;  plead  for  forgiveness;  plead  for  a  return 
of  the  manifestation  of  his  favour  and  loving- 
kindness:  and  O,  be  diligent  and  circumspect  in 
thy  conduct  for  the  future,  that  wherein  thou  hast 
done  iniquity  thou  mayest  do  so  no  more.  And 
now,  O  most  gracious  and  compassionate  God,  here 
I  lie,  at  this  awful  distance  from  thee,  a  guilty, 
helpless,  forlorn  sinner.  I  cannot  extenuate  my 
guilt,  before  thee;  I  plead  nothing  but  the  merits 
of  thy  dear,  well-beloved  Son.  O,  my  God,  I  am 
unhappy !  I  cannot  live  at  this  distance  from  thee, 
deprived  of  communion  with  thee ;  denied  the  com- 
munications of  thy  good  Spirit,  and  the  sweet  smiles 


KEY.    DANIEL  BAKER,   D.  D.  59 

of  thy  countenance;  my  eyes  must  flow  down  with 
tears,  and  my  soul  must  go  mourning,  weighed  do-svn 
with  grief  and  sorrow.  O  my  Maker!  my  Re- 
deemer !  it  is  indeed  an  evil  and  a  bitter  thing  to  sin 
against  God,  the  Supreme,  the  gracious,  the  ever 
blessed  God!  O,  guard,  fortify,  and  secure  me  from 
every  alluring  temptation,  every  unhallowed  affec- 
tion, every  wicked  thought  which  may  offend  my 
God  and  pierce  my  soul  with  many  sorrows.  O 
give  me  that  fervency  of  zeal,  that  devotedness  of 
heart,  that  heavenly-mindedness  which  should  char- 
acterize all  thy  true  and  acceptable  worshippers. 

Friday,  January  \st,  1813.  This  morning  I  have 
been  almost  overwhelmed  with  a  sense  of  the  infinite 
majesty  of  Almighty  God,  and  my  own  insignifi- 
cancy and  unworthiness.  O  how  astonishing  is  the 
grandeur,  love,  and  condescension  of  Jehovah!  He 
who  created  and  sustains  universal  nature;  who 
keeps  in  quiet  and  unceasing  motion  the  countless 
and  stupendous  systems  of  planetary  worlds;  who 
causes  them  all  to  roll  along  and  revolve  with  incon- 
ceivable velocity,  and  most  exact  order  and  har- 
mony. This  great  and  glorious  Being  has  been  and 
is  still  mindful  of  man ;  man  that  is  a  worm,  and  the 
son  of  man  that  is  a  worm;  nay,  has  devised  a  plan 
for  his  redemption;  a  plan,  O  how  wonderful  and 
astonishing!  a  plan  for  the  execution  of  which  the 
Lord  of  glory  bowed  the  heavens,  came  down  upon 
earth,  was  clothed  in  human  flesh,  and  suffered  a 
cruel  and  ignominious  death;  and  all  this,  that 
guilty,  apostate  man  might  be  redeemed  from  his 
pollutions,  and  introduced  into  the  blissful  presence 
of  his   Maker   and  his   God.      Be   astonished,    O 


60  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

heavens!  be  amazed,  O  earth!  at  this  wonder  of 
wonders;  and  thou,  my  soul,  admire,  and  adore,  and 
magnify  thy  Creator,  Preserver,  and  Redeemer,  and 
let  the  mystery  of  godliness  be  for  ever  the  sweet, 
the  delightful,  the  enrapturing  theme  of  thy  medita- 
tions. O  that  I  might  be  more  abstracted  from  the 
world;  that  I  might  worship  my  God  with  more 
devotedness  of  heart!  O  that  I  might  feel  the 
influence  of  a  Saviour's  love  shed  abroad  in  my 
soul;  that  I  might  be  more  zealous  in  his  cause; 
that  I  might  feel  a  more  lively  and  affectionate  soli- 
citude for  the  eternal  welfare  of  my  fellow-men; 
that  I  might  devote  myself  more  unreservedly,  more 
heartily  and  diligently  to  the  service  of  the  greatest 
and  the  best  of  Beings.  My  God !  to  thee  I  commit 
my  way — bring  it  to  pass. 

Sunday  Mornmg,  June  13^A,  1813.  Last  Sabbath 
the  Lord's  Supper  was  administered  at  C.  On  the 
whole  it  was  a  pleasant  season  to  me.  During  the 
intermission  for  the  purpose  of  spreading  the  table, 
I  was  happily  enabled  to  indulge  myself  in  appro- 
priate meditations.  I  had  some  tolerably  humbling 
sense  of  my  unworthiness,  sinfulness,  and  ingratitude. 
I  was  enabled  to  look  with  the  eye  of  faith  upon  the 
Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world. 
I  thought  I  could  really  call  him  my  dear  Saviour, 
my  Lord  and  my  God;  my  heart  was  quite  melted, 
and  fearing  lest  I  should  attract  notice,  I  found  it 
necessary  in  some  measure  to  restrain  my  feelings. 
When  at  the  table,  I  was  in  a  more  calm  and  com- 
posed frame  of  mind,  and  I  employed  the  most  of 
those  precious  moments  in  reflecting  that  I  was  no 
longer  my  own,  but  Christ's,  being  bought  with  a 


D.D.  6't 

price,  and  I  thought  that  from  that  time  I  would 
certainly  endeavour,  in  the  strength  of  divine  grace, 
to  live  more  devoted  to  God,  and  keep  a  stricter 
guard  on  my  future  conduct.  After  rising  from  the 
solemn  and  beloved  ordinance,  I  was  much  encour- 
aged, roused,  and  animated,  by  an  uncommonly 
excellent  sermon,  delivered  by  Dr.  Hoge,  from 
Rev.  vii.  9;  but,  alas!  what  a  changeable,  frail, 
wretched  creature  I  am!  A  httle  trifling  occurrence 
after  worship  showed  that  I  did  not  possess  that 
meekness  and  sweetness  of  temper  which  I  ought ; 
I  felt  unusually  irritable,  peevish,  and  fretful,  and 
felt  too  great  a  disposition  to  censure  little  impro- 
prieties in  others.  This  last  week,  I  have  fallen  far 
short  of  the  good  resolutions  I  formed  at  the  Lord's 
table  and  elsewhere;  I  have  been  cold  and  languid 
in  religious  exercises,  and  shamefully  remiss  in 
the  duty  of  self-examination.  My  miscarriages  and 
shortcomings  are  continually  before  me; — if  thou 
shouldest  be  strict  to  mark  iniquities,  O  God!  who 
could  stand] 

Saturday,  July  ^\st.  Dry,  logical  sermons,  with 
rounded  periods,  delivered  in  a  cold,  formal,  and 
heartless  manner,  I  can  never  relish,  however  beau- 
tified by  the  supei-ficial  elegances  of  composition; 
and  I  question  if  the  good  effects  which  flow  from 
such  preacliing  will  be  sufficient  to  compensate  the 
minister  for  all  his  care,  labour,  and  refinement.  I 
love  warm,  animating,  lively,  evanggelominos  preach- 
ing, full  of  fire,  breathing  love  and  compassion.  O 
may  I  never  become  a  cold,  lifeless,  sentimental 
preacher,  but  may  I  imitate  the  zeal  of  a  ^V  hitefield, 
the  tenderness  of  a  Hervey,  the  affection  of  a  Baxter, 
6 


62  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

and  blend  all  with  the  pure,  sound,  evangelical  prin- 
ciples of  a  Doddridge. 

Sunday,  August  \st.  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul, 
for  the  entertainment  of  his  sanctuary  this  day;  for 
the  sweet  refreshments  of  his  table.  I  was  at  first 
dull,  but  the  Lord  was  pleased  to  enliven  me.  O 
what  a  precious  Saviour  Jesus  is,  who  died  for  the 
salvation  of  those  who  put  their  trust  in  him.  O 
for  more  faith,  more  love,  more  humility,  more  zeal, 
and  more  of  every  thing  which  is  calculated  to  adorn 
the  doctrines  of  God,  my  Saviour.  O  shall  I  ever 
be  honoured  as  the  ambassador  of  the  living  God — 
shall  I  ever  be  called  to  preach  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  this,  my  crucified,  my  risen,  my  dear,  my 
glorious  Kedeemer'?  I  humbly  hope  so.  O  if  I 
should,  may  I  go  forth  in  the  fulness  of  the  bless- 
ings of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  with  burning  love, 
flaming  zeal,  tender  compassion,  and  a  melting  heart. 
O  God,  grant  this  for  Christ's  sake,  for  to  thee 
belongs  the  power,  the  glory,  the  dominion,  for  ever 
and  ever.  Amen  and  amen! 

Narrative  resumed. 

Praying  societies,  as  they  were  called,  were  held 
by  Mr.  W.,  Mr.  B.,  Mr.  H.,  and  myself,  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  College,  for  the  special  benefit  of  the 
blacks;  although  several  white  persons  attended. 
At  these  meetings  we  exhorted;  and  although  not 
very  many  persons  attended,  we  did  hope  that  by 
the  blessing  of  Heaven,  some  good  was  done. 

At  this  time  there  was  war  with  England,  and 
students  in  Virginia  not  being  exempted  from  mili- 
tary duty,  a  draft  was  made  for  the  army,  I  think 
one  in  ten.     Having,  on   that   occasion,  my  spirit 


KEY.    DANIEL  BAKER,   D.  D.  63 

stirred  within  me,  (if  I  recollect  aright,)  I  was  very 
willing  to  be  drafted.  My  friend,  Mr.  W.,  dreaded 
it,  and,  strange  to  tell,  he  was  drafted  and  I  was  not. 
His  friends,  however,  procured  a  substitute,  and  not 
very  long  after,  he  and  myself  both  left  Hampden 
Sidney  for  Princeton,  New  Jersey.  Before  we  left, 
however,  an  alarm  being  given  that  Eichmond  was 
in  danger,  a  call  was  made  for  volunteers.  Koused 
by  martial  music,  and  the  speeches  which  were 
made  by  Mr.  John  Randolph  and  others,  Mr.  B.  and 
myself  offered  ourselves  as  volunteers ;  but  the  alarm 
proved  a  false  one,  and  my  friend  Mr.  B.  and  myself 
won  our  laurels  very  cheaply;  but  for  years  after, 
Mrs.  Hoge,  wife  of  the  President  of  the  College, 
was  wont  to  tell  a  tale  upon  me  to  this  effect,  that 
in  my  eagerness  to  have  a  company  made  up,  I 
almost  rode  a  horse  to  death.  The  case  was  only 
this:  I  rode  with  great  speed  to  Captain  P.,  to  pre- 
vail upon  him  to  be  our  captain. 

As  the  state  of  things  in  Virginia  interfered  with 
our  studies,  it  was  determined  by  our  friends  that 
Mr.  W.  and  myself  should  go  to  Princeton,  as  I  have 
already  said;  and  getting  a  horse  and  gig,  we  set  out 
for  Winchester,  intending  to  take  that  place  in  our 
route.  When  perhaps  half  way  to  Winchester,  as 
Mr.  W.  was  driving,  and  I  was  walking  down  a  hill, 
the  horse  took  fright  and  ran.  The  vehicle  was  soon 
upset,  and  my  companion  was  thrown  with  violence 
upon  the  ground.  Considerably  injured,  Mr.  W.  was 
unable  to  go  with  me  any  further,  and  I  went  alone ; 
and  here  I  would  remark,  that  many  times,  before 
and  since,  have  I  been  most  providentially  protected. 


64c  LIFE  AND  LABOURS  OF   THE 


CHAPTER    III. 

WHILE   A   STUDENT   AT   PRINCETON. 

Haying  reached  Princeton,  I  offered  myself,  on  the 
opening  of  the  winter  session  of  1813,  as  a  candidate 
for  the  Junior  Class,  and  after  examination  was 
admitted.  I  was  located  in  room  39,  and  had  for 
my  room-mate  a  most  estimable  and  pious  young 
man  named  Biggs.  At  this  time  religion  was  at  a 
very  low  ebb  in  the  College.  There  were  about  one 
hundred  and  forty-five  students,  and  of  these,  only 
six,  so  far  as  I  knew,  made  any  profession  of  reli- 
gion, and  even  two  of  these  six  seemed  to  care  very 
little  about  the  matter;  for,  although  four  of  us, 
Price,  Allen,  Biggs,  and  myself,  agreed  to  meet 
every  evening  for  what  was  called  family  prayer, 
they  kept  entirely  aloof  Feeling  it  my  duty  to  do 
what  I  could  for  my  fellow-students  in  Princeton,  as 
at  Hampden  Sidney  College,  I  selected  certain  indi- 
viduals to  be  made  the  subjects  of  special  prayer  and 
effort,  one  named  M.  and  the  other  V.  The  first, 
during  the  revival  which  subsequently  took  place  in 
College,  professed  conversion,  and  in  after  years 
became  a  Presbyterian  preacher.  The  other  was  an 
uncommonly  lovely  young  man,  and  at  one  time  bid 
fair  for  heaven ;  but  sad  to  relate,  even  when  com- 
paratively young,  he  came  down  to  the  drimkard's 
grave.  He  was  very  amiable,  very  yielding,  and 
could  never  say.  No.  During  the  whole  of  this 
session,  religion  was  at  a  very  low  ebb  indeed;  it 


KEY.  Daniel  baker,  d.  d.  65 

was  deemed  a  matter  of  reproach  to  be  professor; 
and  by  way  of  contempt,  those  who  did  make  a  pro- 
fession of  reUgion,  particularly  those  who  composed 
the  praying  band,  were  termed  the  '' ReligiosV^ 
Grieved  to  see  the  abounding  of  iniquity  in  College, 
I  proposed  to  my  three  associates,  Price,  Allen,  and 
Biggs,  that  we  should  establish  a  weekly  prayer- 
meeting  for  the  especial  purpose  of  praying  for  a 
revival  of  religion  in  College.  This  proposition  was 
made  some  time  during  the  second  session,  and  was 
immediately  and  cordially  acceded  to.  Accordingly, 
this  prayer-meeting  was  held  regularly  until  the 
close  of  the  session,  and  none  attended  but  the  four 
already  named,  and  one  non-professor,  S.  C.  Henry, 
who  subsequently  became,  for  many  years,  pastor  of 
Cranberry  church,  New  Jersey.  At  the  commence- 
ment of  the  third  session,  as  our  prayers  seemed  not 
to  have  been  heard,  I  was  somewhat  doubtful  about 
continuing  our  weekly  prayer-meeting,  but,  very 
happily,  my  associates  were  clear  for  continuing  it, 
and  it  was  well;  for  although  we  knew  it  not,  the 
blessing  was  nigh,  even  at  the  doors. 

At  this  time  the  war  was  still  raging  with  Great 
Britain ;  and  by  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
James  Madison,  a  day  was  set  apart  for  fasting, 
humiliation,  and  prayer.  I  recollect  that  day  well. 
My  feelings  were  much  excited ;  and,  after  engaging 
in  private  devotions,  I  proposed  to  my  room-mate 
that  we  should  spend  the  whole  day,  as  far  as  prac- 
ticable, in  visiting  from  room  to  room,  and  converse 
with  our  fellow-students  on  religious  subjects :  and  I 
recollect  distinctly  saying  to  my  room-mate,  "Bro- 
ther B.,  what  does  the  Bible  say'? — 'Is  not  this  the 
6* 


66  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

fast  that  I  have  chosen,  to  loose  the  bands  of  wicked- 
ness V  Come,"  added  I,  "  and  let  us  do  what  we  can 
to  break  the  bands  of  wickedness  this  day."  The 
proposition  was  also  made  to  P.  and  A.,  who  occu- 
pied the  room  just  under  ours;  they  cordially  con- 
curred, and  we  had  four  warm-hearted  missionaries 
in  College  that  day.  We  went  from  room  to  room, 
conversing  on  the  subject  of  religion  only. 

In  a  report  made  by  Dr.  Green  to  the  Trustees 
of  the  College,  and  extensively  published,  referring 
to  the  causes,  humanly  speaking,  of  the  revival,  he 
remarks : 

"  The  few  pious  youth  who  were  members  of  Col- 
lege before  the  revival,  were  happily  instrumental  in 
promoting  it.  They  had,  for  more  than  a  year,  been 
earnestly  engaged  in  prayer  for  this  event.  When 
they  perceived  the  general  and  increasing  serious- 
ness, several  of  them  made  an  agreement  to  speak 
privately  and  tenderly  to  their  particular  friends  and 
acquaintance,  on  the  subject  of  religion.  And  what 
they  said  was,  in  almost  every  instance,  not  only 
well  received,  but  those  with  whom  they  conversed 
became  immediately  and  earnestly  engaged  in  those 
exercises  which  it  is  hoped  have  issued  in  genuine 
piety." 

The  narrative  proceeds: 

Some  of  the  students  seemed  to  be  taken  by  sur- 
prise. They  knew  not  what  to  make  of  it.  At 
length  some  of  them  began  to  assume  a  very  serious 
look,  and  even  the  tear  began  to  trickle  down  the 
cheek.  This  sight,  this  novel  sight,  electrified  our 
souls,  and  gave  us  new  zeal.     The  services  in  the 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  6t 

chapel  were  that  day  uncommonly  solemn;  and  that 
evening  we  saw  six  or  eight  new  faces  at  our  "  family 
prayer." 

The  next  day  an  event  occurred  which  produced  a 
considerable  excitement  amongst  the  students,  and 
served  to  increase  the  religious  interest  greatly.  One 
of  the  students,  W.  J.,  a  very  profane  young  man, 
but  of  a  warm  heart,  and  great  oratorical  powers,  had 
been  out  at  a  tavern  the  night  before,  with  some 
others,  gambUng.  Keturning  to  College  at  a  late 
hour,  he  was  arrested  in  the  campus  by  an  officer  of 
College,  who,  laying  his  hand  upon  him,  said,  "Ah, 
my  young  man!  have  I  got  youV  The  moment  this 
was  said,  W.  J.  (as  he  told  me  afterwards)  was  struck 
under  conviction  of  sin.  He  felt  that  he  had  violated 
the  laws  of  his  Maker,  as  well  as  the  laws  of  College. 
He  was  suspended  by  the  faculty;  but  it  being 
known  that  he  was  under  conviction,  he  was  per- 
mitted to  remain  on  the  College  grounds  for  some 
two  or  three  days.  Much  of  this  time  was  spent  by 
the  "young  orator"  in  telling  his  fellow-students 
what  a  great  sinner  he  had  been,  and  urging  them 
aU  to  attend  to  the  salvation  of  their  souls,  as  the 
one  thing  needful.  That  night  the  room  in  which 
we  held  our  family  worship  was  crowded.  A  little 
after  we  changed  our  place  of  meeting  to  the  largest 
room  in  College,  and  that  was  nearly  full;  some 
seventy  or  eighty  students  being  present. 

It  became  common  now  for  A.,  P.,  B.,  and  myself, 
when  our  turn  came  round,  after  reading  a  portion 
of  Scripture,  to  make  some  remarks  by  way  of 
exhortation,  seated  in  our  chair.  The  interest  in 
the  College  continued  to  increase,  and  in  about  a 


68  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

week  from  the  day  of  the  national  fast,  I  made  this 
record  in  my  diary,  "  Thank  God !  we  can  now  say, 
there  is  a  revival  of  religion  in  Nassau  Hall  Col- 
lege." Yes,  our  prayers  had  been  answered  at  last, 
and  the  Lord  had  done  for  us  far  more  than  we  ever 
dared  to  hope  for.  When  it  was  known  that  the 
work  was  a  genuine  and  powerful  one,  our  worthy 
President,  the  E<ev.  Dr.  Green,  rejoiced  greatly. 
He  would  every  now  and  then  send  for  A.,  P.,  B., 
and  myself,  to  inquire  about  the  religious  excite- 
ment in  College,  and  would  occasionally  hold  spe- 
cial meetings  for  the  young  converts  and  serious 
inquirers.  Some  of  these  "  Counsels  and  Cautions" 
were  subsequently  given  to  the  public  in  the  form 
of  a  tract.  Dr.  A.  Alexander  would  also,  every  now 
and  then,  come  in,  and  favour  us  with  some  very 
appropriate  remarks,  I  recollect  once  he  said,  "The 
promises  were  like  so  many  steps  in  a  ladder,  by 
which  we  might  ascend  to  heaven."  O,  it  was  a 
beautiful  sight  to  see  some  seventy  or  eighty  young 
men  under  the  influence  of  deep  religious  feeling, 
about  forty-five  of  whom  were  rejoicing  in  Christ. 
It  was  worth  an  angel's  visit  from  the  skies,  to  see 
them  walking,  so  lovingly,  arm  in  arm,  or  in  groups, 
talking  about  the  great  things  the  Lord  had  done  for 
them. 

The  revival  continued  up  to  the  very  close  of  the 
session;  and  very  touching  were  the  scenes  pre- 
sented when  they  bid  each  other  farewell.  Tlie 
room  which  brother  B.  and  myself  occupied  was  the 
place  of  chief  resort,  and  was  the  birth-place  of  many 
a  happy  soul.  All  varieties  of  character  came  to 
converse  with  us,  even  some  who  were  not  much 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  69 

wrought  upon,  but  who  knew  not  what  to  make  of 
the  state  of  things  m  College.  One,  a  very  rich 
young  man,  finding  that  the  suppers  which  he  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  giving  late  at  night  were  not 
attended  as  usual,  came  one  night  into  our  room, 
and  sitting  down  at  my  side,  asked  me  ""what  all 
this  meant  1"  and  added,  "Why,  a  man  here  looks 
like  a  fool  if  he  has  not  religion  now!"  After 
telling  him  that  religion  was,  indeed,  the 

"Chief  concern  of  mortals  here  below," 

and  urging  him  to  secure  for  himself  the  "pearl 
of  great  price,"  "Well,"  said  he,  "I  will  try  for 
one  week,  and  if  I  do  not  get  it,  you  see,  sir,  my 
character  is  gone !"  With  what  sincerity  he  tried, 
I  will  not  say,  but  I  fear  he  never  gained  the  prize: 
and  although  many  others  besides,  were  only  almost 
persuaded  to  be  Christians,  some  forty-five  or  fifty 
were,  in  the  judgment  of  charity,  soundly  converted. 
About  twenty  or  thirty,  I  should  think,  became 
ministers  of  the  gospel,  several  of  whom  became 
pillars  of  the  Church;  two  at  the  present  time  are 
distinguished  bishops  of  the  Episcopal  Church;  one 
has  been,  and  perhaps  still  is,  president  of  a  College, 
another,  according  to  a  British  print,  is  "the  great- 
est divine  now  living,"  whilst  another  has  become 
famous  as  a  missionary  to  the  Sandwich  Islands; 
and  I  must  not  forget  the  Rev.  Amzi  Armstrong, 
whose  death,  a  few  years  since,  excited  such  painful 
and  universal  interest.  O  it  was  a  glorious  work  of 
grace,  and  verily  its  blessed  consequences  will  not 
only  run  along  down  the  whole  stream  of  time,  but 


70  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF    TUE 

will  not  lose  their  traces  throughout  the  wide  ocean 
of  eternity ! 

One  who  was  at  this  time  in  the  Seminary  thus 
speaks,  after  the  death  of  Dr.  Baker,  of  those  days : 

"  There  are  some  men  concerning  whose  develop- 
ments of  character  and  usefulness  you  are  never 
disappointed.  And  such  an  one,  in  an  eminent  de- 
gree, Ave  think,  was  the  late  Daniel  Baker.  I  knew 
him  first  when  he  was  yet  a  member  of  Nassau  Hall 
College.  There  was  prevailing  at  that  time  (1815,) 
in  that  institution,  that  remarkable  revival  of  reli- 
gion, of  which  Dr.  Green  has  given  so  interesting  a 
narrative.  Being  a  student  of  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary, T  had  naturally  something  to  do  with  this 
wonderful  movement;  and  there  commenced  my 
acquaintance  with  our  deceased  friend. 

"There  were,  according  to  my  recollections,  but 
a  few  professors  of  religion  in  College,  and  this 
rendered  the  more  prominent  the  position  of  such 
an  one  as  Mr.  Baker.  He  was  already  of  mature 
years,  and  being  known  as  a  man  of  great  single- 
ness and  steadfastness  of  aim,  he  was  universally 
respected,  and  much  sought  mito  by  those  who  were 
seriously  concerned. 

"In  matters  relating  to  religion,  he  seemed  to 
have  their  unbounded  confidence;  and  what  with 
the  peculiar  elevation  and  sanctity  of  his  mind,  it 
is  not  wonderful  they  regarded  him  as  a  sort  of 
superior  being.  Such  indeed  was  the  impression, 
to  some  extent,  which  he  made  upon  my  own  mind, 
especially  on  one  occasion.  After  attending  to  the 
usual  duties  of  the  day,  he  was  found  at  the  twilight 


REV.    DANraL   BAKER,    D.  D.  71 

hour,  sitting  in  his  room,  with  his  head  thrown 
back  upon  his  chair,  in  a  state  of  trance-like  and 
holy  abstraction.  I  cannot  render  this  as  an  inci- 
dent, or  convey  it  as  I  would,  as  a  description  of 
character;  but  it  seems  to  me  now,  that  if  ever 
mortal  man  could  appropriate  the  language  of 
seraphic  adoration,  our  friend  might  have  been 
saying, 

'Into  the  heaven  of  heavens,  I  have  presumed, 
An  earthly  guest,  and  drawn  empyreal  air.' 

Besides  the  usual  promise  of  fair  talents,  untiring 
industry,  and  great  steadfastness  of  purpose  in  doing 
good,  there  ^vas  about  this  man  a  singular  sweetness 
of  disposition  and  loving  character  of  his  piety, 
(loving,  we  mean  in  spirit  like  that  of  Rutherford's 
letters  and  Solomon's  Songs,  not,  of  course,  in  lan- 
guage,) and  these  marked  the  man,  and  continued, 
I  believe,  more  or  less  through  hfe.  None  were 
ever  disappointed  in  him,  and  it  need  not  be  said 
now  that  his  usefulness,  both  in  the  ordinary  and 
higher  departments  of  rehgious  labour,  was  such  as 
few  men  of  our  day  have  reached." 

The  narrative  proceeds : 

A  little  incident  may  here  be  mentioned,  showing 
what  power  rehgion  has  to  warm  and  expand  the 
heart.  Early  in  the  summer  session  of  1815,  a  Mr. 
Harned  came  from  Philadelphia.  Sabbath-schools 
had  then  lately  been  introduced  in  that  city,  and 
were  becoming  very  popular.  He  came  to  Prince- 
ton, and  proposed  that  the  religious  students  in 
College  should  establish  Sabbath-schools  in  Prince- 
ton and  its  vicinity.  This  was  cordially  seconded  by 
a  Mr.  N.,  a  young  man  of  uncommon  popularity  in 


72  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

College.  The  plan  was,  with  the  approbation  of  the 
faculty,  submitted  to  the  students,  and  it  went  like 
fire  in  the  prairies.  All  were  pleased  with  the  idea 
of  doing  good  in  this  way.  A  subscription  was  cir- 
culated, and  in  a  short  time  more  than  three  hundred 
dollars  were  subscribed. 

At  the  close  of  this  session  I  graduated.  There 
were  five  "honours,"  and  seven  "distinctions."  One 
of  the  honours  was  given  to  me,  which  was  beyond 
my  expectation,  as  I  had  entered  the  junior  class 
when  I  was  not  well  prepared  for  it,  and  during  the 
revival  I  had  many  things  to  interrupt  my  studies. 
It  will  be  seen,  that  as  I  first  took  hold  of  my  gram- 
mar in  July,  1811,  and  the  senior  vacation  took 
place  in  1815,  my  whole  course  occupied  only  four 
years,  which  was  certainly  too  short  a  period  for  me 
to  be  thorough  in  any  of  my  studies.  A  speech  was 
assigned  me  for  the  "commencement;"  but,  having 
obtained  permission,  I  left  Princeton  for  Virginia, 
expecting  to  return  in  due  time,  and  enter  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary. 

A  distinguished  minister,  who  was  an  intimate 
friend  in  College,  speaking  of  him  at  this  period, 
says:  "He  was  a  fine  scribe,  wrote  many  letters  to 
pious  friends  and  relatives;  delighted  in  composing, 
and  composed  well.  He  was  very  fond  of  speaking, 
and  would,  in  the  early  part  of  his  education,  com- 
pose and  exhibit  original  pieces.  No  student  in  the 
College  took  such  delight  in  their  exercises.  He 
was  fonder  of  them  than  Latin  or  Greek.  He  did 
not  like  the  long  and  tedious  course  of  academic  and 
collegiate  life.  I  roomed  with  him  one  session,  and 
say  he  was  a  man  given  to  prayer.     I  think  I  pros- 


KEY.  DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  78 

pered  from  my  intercourse  with  him.  I  have  never 
been  intimate  with  any  youth  who  was  more  conse- 
crated to  the  Lord,  and  devout  in  his  service.  For 
me  to  write,  that  it  was  his  meat  and  his  drink  to 
do  the  will  of  his  Father  in  heaven,  and  to  serve 
him  in  the  gospel  of  his  Son,  would  be  no  more  than 
what  all  know,  who  are  acquainted  with  his  zeal  and 
diligence  in  untiring  and  persevering  efforts  to  save 
immortal  souls.  He  was  instant  in  season  and  out 
of  season,  in  the  work  of  his  Master." 

At  this  time,  not  yet  twenty-four  years  of  age, 
and  in  all  the  flush  of  ardent  youth,  religion,  never- 
theless, was  the  one  thought  of  his  mind,  the  one 
emotion  of  his  heart.  "  My  dear  friend,"  says  he,  in 
one  of  many  letters  to  a  young  lady  in  New  Eng- 
land, dated  Princeton,  January  21st,  1815,  "My  dear 
friend,  I  am  sorry  that  you  should  for  a  moment  have 
supposed  that  your  letters  are  displeasing  to  me. 
Believe  me,  they  are  reaUy  very  interesting;  more 
so  on  account  of  the  tender  and  lively  interest  I  take 
in  your  temporal  and  eternal  happiness.  And  I  will 
now  request,  that  if  at  any  time  3^ou  should  not 
receive  letters  from  me  as  soon  as  you  expect,  you 
will  attribute  it  to  any  thing  rather  than  a  diminu- 
tion of  my  esteem  for  you,  and  an  indifference  to 
our  epistolary  correspondence.  Your  last  letter  gave 
me  much  satisfaction,  yet  it  was  of  a  mingled  kind. 
I  was  pleased  to  find  that  your  religious  impressions 
are  not  less  deep,  nor  your  desires  less  fervent;  but 
I  lamented  that  you  had  not  yet  obtained  peace  and 
pardon.  I  had  hoped  that  you  would  have  had  a 
new  song  put  into  your  mouth,  even  praise  unto  our 
7 


74  LIFE   AND   LABOURS,  OF   THE 

God.  I  am,  however,  glad  that  you  are  not  dis- 
couraged, and  that  you  are  earnestly  endeavouring 
to  secure  to  yourself  that  good  part  which  will  never 
be  taken  from  you.  O  may  you  soon  be  brought 
to  share  the  pardoning  love  of  God !  But,  what  do  I 
say — perhaps  you  are  even  now  a  dear  child  of 
God,  and  are  enabled  to  rejoice  in  the  Lord,  having 
no  confidence  in  the  flesh.  If  so,  I  rejoice  with  you, 
and  would  most  tenderly  urge  you  to  renew  your 
diligence,  and  press  on  toward  the  celestial  city. 

"  In  this  world  you  wiU  meet  with  many  things 
to  distract  your  attention  and  cool  the  fervour  of 
your  affection;  but  if  you  keep  up  a  close  walk 
with  God,  you  will  have  strength  sufficient  unto 
your  day.  But  probably  my  dear  friend  is  still  in 
heaviness  on  account  of  manifold  temptations.  If 
this  is  indeed  your  case,  I  sincerely  desire  to  say 
something  which  may  encourage  and  animate  you. 
I  think  if  I  were  present  with  you,  I  could  speak 
more  suitably  and  appropriately,  because  I  should 
then  have  a  better  knowledge  of  tho  feelings  and 
exercises  of  your  mind;  but  this  satisfaction  is  at 
present  denied  me. 

"  You  are,  my  dear  friend,  engaged  in  seeking  the 
salvation  of  your  soul.  It  is  a  happy  tiling  that  you 
have  been  brought  seriously  to  reflect  upon  eternal 
concerns.  This  is  the  first  step  in  that  path  which 
leads  to  the  heavenly  world.  You  have  also  been 
brought  to  see  your  sinfulness,  and  your  exposure  to 
the  curse  of  a  violated  law.  You  feel  that  you  are 
in  a  lost  and  perishing  condition,  and  that  you  need 
a  Saviour.  It  is  well  that  you  feel  these  things. 
But   perhaps    you  have   no   distinct   views   of    the 


REV.  DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  75 

Saviour;  your  ideas  are  obscure,  aud  you  long  to 
have  clearer  discoveries  of  the  character  of  the  dear 
Redeemer.  Well,  my  friend,  it  is  really  important 
that  you  should  be  well  acquainted  with  Him  who 
loved  you,  and  gave  himself  for  you.  For  this  you 
are  permitted  fervently  to  pray.  O  then,  pray  for 
the  enlightening  and  invigorating  influences  of  the 
Holy  Spirit;  for  it  is  his  province  to  irradiate  the 
mind,  open  the  eyes,  soften  the  heart,  and  take  of 
the  things  of  Christ  and  show  them  unto  us.  Faith 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  is  indispensably  necessary,  and  we 
need  expect  no  safe  and  durable  peace  until  we  feel 
our  entire  weakness,  and  rest  upon  him  alone  as  the 
Lord  our  righteousness  and  strength. 

"Perhaps  you  think  your  convictions  of  sin  are 
not  as  deep  as  they  ought  to  be,  and  this  distresses 
you.  But,  Miss  Betsy,  you  must  not  rest  entirely 
upon  your  feelings;  the  question  is  not  so  much,  if 
you  have  deep  convictions  of  guilt  and  bitter  repent- 
ance for  sin,  as  whether  they  have  been  such  as  to 
lead  you  to  the  Saviour.  There  is  a  diversity  of 
operations;  and  whatever  means  are  made  use  of, 
whether  love  or  terror,  the  event  is  equally  happy ; 
therefore,  if  you  have  any  satisfactory  evidence  of 
being  vitally  united  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  enjoy  the 
comfort  which  it  is  calculated  to  inspire.  Bless  the 
Lord  for  what  he  has  done  for  your  soul,  and  pray 
that  you  may  grow  in  grace,  and  have  clearer  dis- 
coverie?  of  divine  things.  Press  on,  my  dear  friend, 
and  O,  may  you  be  enabled  to  live  to  the  praise  of 
His  grace,  who  hath  called  you  out  of  darkness  into 
his  marvellous  light. 

"I  am  happy  to  inform  you  that  the  Lord  has 


76  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

visited  us  in  mercy,  and  that  there  is  now  a  revival 
of  reUgion  in  Nassau  Hall  College.  The  inquiry 
has  become  quite  general,  What  must  I  do  to  be 
saved]  and  a  goodly  number  have  already  crowded 
around  the  standard  of  the  cross.  O,  my  friend, 
it  would  fill  your  heart  with  sacred  joy  to  view 
those  scenes  which  are  now  daily  presented  to  my 
eyes.  Many  of  the  students  who  last  week  were 
gay  and  thoughtless,  now  hang  down  their  heads 
like  bulrushes,  and  go  mourning  after  the  Saviour. 
Some  of  them  have  already  found  Jesus  precious  to 
their  souls,  and  are  now  joying  in  the  God  of  their 
salvation,  whilst  others  are  in  bitterness  of  soul  on 
account  of  their  sins  and  the  hardness  of  their  heart. 
This  glorious  work  commenced  last  Thursday  week, 
the  day  appointed  by  the  supreme  magistrate  of  our 
country  as  a  day  of  fasting,  humiliation,  and  prayer. 
It  has  been  progressing  ever  since,  and  now  I  sup- 
pose there  are  about  thirty  or  forty  of  the  students 
more  or  less  impressed.  The  College  has  become  a 
Bethel,  a  house  of  prayer ;  and  prayer  is  now  set  up 
in  those  rooms  which  have  not  resounded  with  the 
voice  of  supplication  for  forty  years  past.  I  hope 
we  are  all  revived,  and  are  enabled  to  take  the  cup 
of  salvation,  and  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord. 
Join  with  me,  my  dear  friend,  in  adoring  the 
unsearchable  riches  of  Jesus  Christ. 

"  Blessed  be  God,  there  are  many  new-born  heirs 
of  glory  here,  who  will  ere  long  swell  the  triumph 
of  the  Saviour,  and  who  will  be  everlasting  monu- 
ments of  redeeming  love.  O,  my  friend,  I  long  to 
hear  from  you.  I  want  to  know  whether  you  have 
yet  entirely  given  your  heart  to  God,  and  whether 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  77 

you  have  yet  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious.  If 
you  have  not  yet,  I  most  earnestly  entreat  you  to 
renew  your  exertions.  O  do  not  let  the  world 
ensnare  you;  do  not  let  its  blandishments  charm 
you;  do  not  let  any  thing  keep  you  from  the  dear 
Kedeemer.  Come  to  him,  rest  upon  him,  and 
receive  him  as  the  Lord,  our  righteousness  and 
strength ;  then  will  the  peace  of  God,  which  passeth 
understanding,  keep  your  heart  and  mind  in  Christ 
Jesus;  then  will  you  love  to  meditate  on  divine 
things;  then  will  you  rejoice  in  the  hope  of  the 
glory  hereafter  to  be  revealed. 

"  I  am  much  pleased  with  the  account  you  give  of 
your  Reading  Society.  May  the  blessing  of  God 
descend  upon  it  as  rain  upon  the  mown  grass,  and 
as  showers  that  water  the  earth.  Have  you  intro- 
duced prayer  as  an  exercised  I  think  it  would 
be  very  proper,  especially  as  you  have  so  many  of 
the  followers  of  the  Lamb.  O,  faint  not,  press  on; 
strengthen  your  heart,  and  look  unto  Jesus  as  the 
great  author  and  finisher  of  your  faith.  The  time 
is  short;  it  remaineth  that  those  who  weep  be  as 
those  who  weep  not;  although  weeping  may  endure 
for  a  night,  yet  joy  cometh  in  the  morning.  Our 
sorrows,  trials,  and  temptations  are  but  of  short 
continuance,  and  although  they  cause  us  heaviness, 

yet, 

♦<  They  will  sooner  waft  us  o'er 
This  life's  tempestuous  sea; 
Soon  we  shall  reach  the  peaceful  share, 
Of  blessed  eternity." 

Yours,  sincerely, 

.  Daniel  Baker. 
7* 


78  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 


CHAPTEE    IV. 

WHILE   AT   WINCHESTER,   VIRGINIA. 

After  consulting  with  my  friends,  it  was  finally 
thought  best  that  I  should  study  theology  under 
the  direction  of  Mr.  Hill,  pastor  of  the  church  at 
Winchester,  and  spend  a  part  of  my  time  in  assist- 
ing Mr.  Nichols  in  the  Female  Academy.  This 
aiTangement  was  made  with  my  very  free  consent, 
as  an  important  part  of  the  plan  was,  that  I  should 
be  married  early  in  the  next  Spring. 

A  lady  who  knew  him  at  this  time  thus  writes  in 
regard  to  him  after  his  death: 

"  Well  do  I  remember  the  first  time  I  saw  him ; 
then  I  was  but  eleven  years  old.  I  was  in  the 
boarding-school.  The  house  I  lived  in  had  been 
broken  into  one  night,  and  Mrs.  Nichols,  my  aunt, 
said  she  would  call  on  Mr.  Hill,  and  ask  him  to  let 
one  of  the  students  board  with  us  for  our  protection. 
Your  dear,  dear  father  came.  He  was  my  day  and 
Sabbath-school  teacher  for,  I  think,  two  years.  At 
one  time  I  had  displeased  him,  and  he  did  not 
notice  me  with  a  smile  as  usual.  He  passed  through 
the  room  where  I  sat  with  my  book.  I  could  not 
run  and  tell  him  how  sad  I  was,  but  he  saw  it.  I 
thought  he  had  gone  and  not  spoken  to  me.  I 
threw  my  little  apron  over  my  face,  and  sobbed  as  if 
my  heart  would  break.  He  came  back  and  spoke 
so  kindly  1  wept  the  more.     He  told  me  how  wrong 


EEV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  79 

I  did  to  neglect  my  lessons,  how  I  grieved  liim. 
He  told  me  God  would  not  love  me ;  spoke  sweetly, 
as  he  ever  did,  of  the  blessed  Jesus.  With  new 
life  I  went  to  my  task.  On  one  occasion  one  of  the 
servants  came  in  and  said  they  heard  a  great  noise 
in  the  school-house,  that  was  at  a  little  distance 
from  the  house  we  lived  in.  It  was  night.  One  of 
the  older  girls,  bolder  than  the  rest  of  us,  went  to 
see  what  it  was.  Your  dear  father  was  there  pray- 
ing for  us  all." 

Immediately  on  taking  up  my  residence  in  Win- 
chester, Mr.  Hill  set  me  to  exhorting  at  his  Wed- 
nesday evening  meetings;  and  in  the  course  of  a 
month  or  two  he  went  over  the  Blue  Ridge  on  a  long 
visit  to  his  friends,  in  Charlotte  county,  and  left 
me  in  charge  of  his  two  congregations,  in  Win- 
chester, and  Smithfield,  fifteen  miles  distant.  This 
was  roUing  a  great  burden  upon  me,  raw  and  inex- 
perienced as  I  was;  but  although  deeply  sensible  of 
my  unfitness  for  so  great  a  work,  I  determined  to 
do  the  best  I  could.  I  did  not  read  much,  but 
spent  most  of  the  time  which  I  could  command  in 
the  writing  and  committing  of  addresses  for  Wed- 
nesday evenings,  and  exhortations  for  the  Sab- 
baths. 

My  first  exhortation  in  the  church  was  based  upon 
these  words,  "Arise  ye  and  depart,  for  this  is  not 
your  rest."  My  second  from  2  Kings  v.  1 ;  and  my 
third  from  the  1 2th  verse  of  the  same  chapter.  On 
the  first  occasion  I  had  a  pretty  full  house;  on  the 
second,  crowded,  and  the  meetings  continued  to  be 
well  attended,  until  the  return  of  the  pastor,  which, 


80  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

if  I  recollect  aright,  did  not  take  place  for  about 
four  months. 

Finding  that  religion  was  at  a  low  ebb,  I  tried  to 
do  something  in  the  way  of  visiting,  and  determined 
to  make  one  special  effort  to  wake  up  the  slumber- 
ing people  of  God.  I  prepared  with  great  care  an 
address  to  professors  of  religion,  pointing  out  some 
of  the  duties  which  lukewarm  Christians  are  apt  to 
neglect:  coming  down  to  life  and  manners,  I  spoke 
in  a  very  plain  and  pointed  manner.  When  I 
finished  I  was  scared,  and  much  feared  that  I  had 
given  mortal  offence.  How  was  I  sui-prised  the 
next  day  to  learn  that  my  address  had  been  ex- 
tremely well  received.  Several  of  the  members  of 
the  church  remarked  that  it  was  just  what  they  all 
deserved,  and  what  they  all  needed.  Encouraged,  I 
went  on  and  proposed  establishing  a  prayer-meet- 
ing, to  be  held  in  the  house  in  which  I  resided, 
every  Friday  evening.  This  also  was  well  received. 
We  appointed  our  first  meeting,  I  think,  about  the 
last  of  October;  it  was  well  attended,  and  Mr.  W. 
(already  the  E-ev.  Mr.  W.)  being  in  Winchester,  on 
a  visit,  I  got  him  to  make  the  opening  address. 
The  Friday  evening  prayer-meeting  was  continued 
up  to  the  return  of  the  pastor,  and  I  suppose  even 
up  to  this  time.  Those  meetings  proved  to  be 
deeply  interesting,  and  the  room  in  which  they 
were  held  was  no  doubt  the  birthplace  of  many  a 
soul. 

About  this  time,  in  connection  with  Mr.  W.  and 
some  lay  members  of  different  communions,  we 
started  a  Sabbath-school,  to  be  held  every  Sabbath 
afternoon,  at  three  o'clock;  and  I  was  made  super- 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  81 

intendent.  "We  had  a  noble  set  of  teachers,  and  the 
first  day  the  school  opened  with  one  hundred  and 
thirty  scholars;  which  afterwards,  I  think,  increased 
to  two  hundred.  In  this  school  I  took  a  very  great 
delight;  and,  I  think,  it  contributed  towards  the 
pleasing  work  of  grace  which  soon  followed.  For. 
several  months,  indeed,  during  nearly  the  whole  of 
the  winter,  we  had  a  measure  of  religious  excite- 
ment, not  powerful,  but  very  pleasing,  in  which 
something  like  twenty-five  individuals  professed  to 
find  peace  in  behoving. 

Upon  the  close  of  the  session  in  the  Female  Aca- 
demy, I  paid  another  visit  to  my  betrothed,  and  on 
the  28th  of  March,  1816,  we  were  married,  at  noon- 
day, by  Dr.  Moses  Hoge. 

In  the  earher  days  of"  Virginia,  there  emigrated 
from  Scotland  to  that  province,  the  Eev.  Archibald 
McRobert,  an  Episcopal  clergyman,  the  certificate 
of  whose  ordination  by  certain  English  bishops  still 
remains.  This  minister  became  incumbent  of  the 
living  of  St.  Patrick,  embracing  what  is  now  known 
as  Prince  Edward  Court  House.  Abandoning  the 
Established  Church,  from  conscientious  scruples  in 
regard  to  the  test-oath,  he  became  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  and,  warmly  espousing  the  cause  of  this 
country  at  the  Revolution,  his  estate  was  invaded  by 
Tarleton,  and  his  house  rifled  and  fired.  The  family 
portraits,  all  shced  by  dragoon  sabres,  are  still  pre- 
served. His  son  Theodoric  rose  to  distinction  at  the 
bar;  and  it  was  to  Elizabeth,  a  daughter  of  this  son, 
that  Dr.  Baker  became  united  in  marriage.  Of  rare 
intellectual    attainments    and   unfeigned  piety,   she 


82  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

often  expressed  that  deep  and  fervent  piety  in  strains 
of  jDoetry  which  were  counted — at  least  by  those  who 
loved  her  so  well — of  surpassing  sweetness.  For  so 
many  years  a  beloved  companion  of  her  husband,  the 
messenger  that  bore  him  away,  soon  returned  again 
for  her  also.  It  was  the  priceless  privilege  of  the 
compiler  of  this  volume  to  attend  the  dying  couch  of 
his  mother,  as  he  had  that  of  his  father;  in  his  arms, 
and  upon  his  bosom,  to  bear  her  like  a  babe,  in  her 
great  physical  weakness,  for  weeks,  about  the  house. 
Often,  while  preparing  these  pages,  has  he  laid  aside 
his  pen  from  this  task  of  love,  to  enjoy  the  greater 
privilege  of  ministering  to  her  who  bore  him;  and 
as  this  task  approached  its  completion,  he  laid  it 
altogether  aside,  to  stand  with  other  of  her  children 
by  her  side,  to  receive  her  last  assurances  of  a  love 
^or  them,  less  only  than  her  love  for  him  who  has 
gone  before,  and  for  her  Saviour.  In  the  sixty- 
fonvth  year  of  her  age,  in  the  forty-second  year  of 
her  married  life,  after  being  separated  from  her  hus- 
band a  much  shorter  period  than  she  had  often  been 
during  his  life,  she  rejoined  him  in  heaven,  and 
there  sings  with  him  now  the  song  of  Moses  and  the 
Lamb. 

The  autobiography  proceeds: 

Returning  to  Winchester,  I  resumed  my  duties  in 
the  Academy;  and  although  Mr.  Hill  had  returned, 
he  made  me  oftentimes  officiate  on  Wednesday  and 
Friday  evenings;  and  an  arrangement  was  made  for 
me  to  go  out  and  hold  religious  meetings  on  the 
Sabbath,  at  Berryville,  Newtown,  and  Jarratt's  Town. 
These  meetings  were  generally  much  crowded,  and 
I  hope  that   a  goodly  number  will   bless  God  for 


REV.  DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  83 

them  to  all  eternity.  During  the  summer  several 
cases  of  hopeful  conversion  occurred  in  the  Female 
Academy  in  Winchester;  and  in  relation  to  Jarratt's 
Town,  I  will  state  a  circumstance  as  recorded  in  one 
of  my  letters  to  Mr.  Walton,  and  written  about  this 
time:  "You  know  I  went  to  Jarratt's  Town  last 
winter,  and  delivered  four  discourses,  or  exhorta- 
tions. Well,  as  I  was  on  my  way  there,  Saturday 
before  last,  I  met  an  old  black  man  on  the  road, 
who  asked  me  if  my  name  was  not  Mr.  Baker.  On 
my  answering  in  the  affirmative,  he  must  needs 
shake  hands  and  chat  awhile.  'Why,  Massa,'  said 
he,  'you  russelled  de  people  when  you  was  here 
before.'  'Russelled  the  people!^  replied  I — 'what  is 
thatr  'Yes,  Massa,  you  russelled  de  people — you 
come  too  close  on  'em — you  say,  de  best  way  to  try 
if  de  tree  is  sound,  is  to  take  a  stick  and  knock  'em.' 
So  saying,  a  tree  being  fortunately  at  hand,  suiting 
the  action  to  the  word,  he  gave  me  a  practical  illus- 
tration of  his  meaning.  But  I  hadn't  russelled  him, 
it  seems — O  no ;  he  liked  plain,  close  preaching.  I 
began  to  fear  that  I  had  offended  the  people  here, 
as  in  some  other  places,  and  that  my  usefulness  in 
Jarratt's  Town  was  at  an  end;  but  I  was  soon  very 
agreeably  undeceived,  for,  on  reaching  the  tow^n,  I 
heard  that  although  some  did  not  like  my  singing 

<  When  I  can  read  my  title  clear' 

to  a  Methodist  tune,  yet  the  people  generally  were 
much  pleased;  and  it  appeared  that  the  Lord  had 
blessed  my  labours,  and  awakened  an  unusual  atten- 
tion in  the  place  to  religious  concerns.  The  next 
day,  although  I  had  a  dreadful  headache,  I  spoke, 


84  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF    THE 

perhaps,  for  one  full  hour  with  great  freedom  and 
earnestness;  and  from  the  church  I  went  to  the 
house  of  a  friend,  and  immediately  called  in  a  phy- 
sician, and  went  to  bed.  As  the  case  threatened  to 
be  of  a  very  serious  character,  I  sent  for  my  beloved 
wife,  who  came  in  all  haste.  With  good  nursing,  I 
soon  began  to  get  better,  and  in  a  few  days  I  was 
able  to  return  to  Winchester." 

It  may  be  remarked  here,  that  up  to  this  time, 
and  for  years  after.  Dr.  Baker,  having  been  reared 
in  the  swamps  of  Georgia,  was  of  a  sallow,  slender, 
sickly  appearance,  giving  no  promise  of  the  health 
and  vigour  he  afterwards  possessed.  It  would  be 
well  for  those  brethren  who  bewail  their  spiritual 
darkness;  their  fearful  apprehensions  in  regard  to 
things  of  earth  and  heaven;  their  manifold  prayers, 
fastings,  and  efforts  for  God,  without  result,  to  see 
if  the  cause  of  their  unhappiness  and  inefficiency 
does  not  lie  in  their  want  of  bodily  health.  By 
anxiety,  over  study,  too  little  exercise  and  recrea- 
tion, or  some  other  violation  of  the  ordinance  of 
God,  multitudes  of  good  men,  in  weakening  their 
body,  greatly  diminish  both  their  happiness  and 
usefulness,  debilitate  intellect  and  soul,  as  well  as 
physical  frame;  make  themselves,  in  fact,  of  that 
outward  appearance — tall,  lean,  sour  in  face,  repel- 
ling in  manner,  gloomy  in  bearing — which  scoffers 
so  often  picture  as  the  very  ideal  of  the  Puritan, 
and  especially  the  Calvinistic  divine.  We  have 
only  to  observe  the  instinctive  aversion  and  shrink- 
ing of  the  young,  and  of  children  especially,  from 
such,  to  know  that  there  is  a  painful  lack  herein. 


REV.  DANIEL  BAKER,  D.  D.  85 

Though  "a  man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with 
grief,"  there  must  have  been  every  thing  the  reverse 
of  this  in  Jesus,  every  thing  genial  and  attractive  in 
his  very  bearing  and  countenance.  Around  his 
knees  children  joyfully  clustered,  sitting  in  his  arms, 
and  receiving  his  blessing. 

The  man  who  stands  in  the  pulpit,  broad-chested, 
in  evident  possession  of  health  and  happiness,  exerts 
a  living  force  upon  an  audience,  even  apart  from 
what  he  has  to  say.  Full  health  is  our  natural  con- 
dition. He  who,  by  any  act  of  commission  or  omis- 
sion, impoverishes  himself  in  this,  is  guilty  of  break- 
ing the  law  of  God — is  guilty  of  so  much  suicide,  of 
so  much  sin,  in  fact — a  sin  which,  like  all  other  sin, 
is  punished  directly,  indirectly,  and  invariably,  by 
the  Almighty. 

As  to  Dr.  Baker,  his  incessant  travels  and  preach- 
ing developed  and  strengthened  his  constitution  to  a 
remarkable  degree.  Avoiding  all  stimulants,  with  a 
healthful  appetite  for  food,  careless  of  its  quality — all 
that  he  required  was  a  certain  amount  of  sleep.  His 
capacity  for  labour  was  almost  unlimited — bounded 
by  consideration  for  his  hearers,  not  for  himself  At 
a  Synod  upon  which  he  attended,  a  resolution  was 
unanimously  passed,  at  the  very  opening,  requesting 
and  directing  him  to  "do  all  the  preaching  during 
Synod."  Though  it  was  a  very  large  Synod,  and 
this  seemed  unreasonable,  on  many  accounts,  yet  he 
obeyed.  As  to  his  untiring  energy,  it  was  remarked 
of  him,  by  a  business  man,  himself  by  no  means 
lacking  in  this  quality,  "  Dr.  Baker's  energy  would 
be  worth  to  me  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year." 
Owing  to  his  health,  his  cheerfulness  also  was  never 
8 


86  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

impaired;  in  fact,  amounted,  all  the  year  around, 
to  steady  joyousness.  No  one,  in  or  out  of  his 
family,  can  remember  even  a  momentary  cloud  of 
depression  on  his  sunny  brow,  or  a  breath  of  petu- 
lance on  his  smiling  lips.  He  may  have  been  angry 
at  times,  but  never  for  an  instant  cross.  Into  the 
fun  of  children  he  entered  as  cordially  as  themselves, 
never  losing  his  dignity  thereby;  and  this,  with  his 
sincere  love  for  them,  was  one  cause  of  his  singular 
success  in  interesting  and  impressing  them.  And 
when  defeated  in  one  plan,  he  turned  instantly, 
without  a  murmur,  and  but  a  transient  emotion 
even,  to  another;  and  to  him  every  step  in  life 
opened  new  and  captivating  vistas  of  usefulness — 
he  was  never  at  a  loss.  Of  all  "croaking,"  as  ho 
termed  it,  he  had  a  cordial  dislike.  Whatever  else 
may  be  said  of  him,  since  Adam  left  Paradise  a 
happier  man  never  walked  the  earth. 

There  is  a  joy  which  lends  a  deeper  glow  to  the 
cheek,  and  a  brighter  sparkle  to  the  eye,  and  a 
sweeter  song  to  the  lips,  even  of  the  angels  in  the 
presence  of  God — the  joy  over  a  repenting  sinner. 
Of  this  celestial  joy,  the  subject  of  this  memoir  had  a 
full  share — a  larger  share,  perhaps,  than  generally 
falls  to  those  on  this  side  the  gates  of  heaven.  It 
need  scarce  be  said,  his  energy,  cheerfulness,  buoy- 
ancy, had  their  fountain-head  in  his  faith  in  God, 
manifested  in  Christ;  but  their  deep,  wide,  unob- 
structed channels  were  in  his  healthfidness  of  body. 
He  undoubtedly  was  somewhat  impatient  of  invalid 
men ;  yet  it  was  not  so  when  such  were  really  pri- 
soners in  chamber  and  bed;  then  no  one  could  be 
more  sympathizing. 


KEY.   DANIEL  BAKER,    D.  D.  87 

Here  we  give  some  extracts  from  his  journal  of 
this  period. 

October  30fA,  1815.  This  evening  I  have  had 
some  very  humbling  views  of  myself;  my  sins  in 
Savannah,  and  the  long-suffering  goodness  of  God 
was  the  subject  of  my  meditation;  my  feelings  were 
indescribable.  I  could  do  httle  else  than  confess  my 
exceeding  unworthiness,  and  praise  the  Lord  for  his 
rich  and  unmerited  mercy  shown  toward  me.  It 
seems  to  me  I  shall  never  repine  or  murmur  at  any 
of  the  afflictive  dispensations  of  Heaven  toward  me ; 
for  O,  I  deserve  not  a  crumb;  I  deserve  now  to  be  in 
hell,  lifting  up  my  eyes  in  torment.  Blessed,  for 
ever  blessed  be  the  Lord  for  his  great  goodness 
manifested  toward  me.  "Bless  the  Lord,  O  my 
soul,  and  all  that  is  within  me  bless  his  holy  name." 

November  'ith.  This  evening,  Selina,  a  sweet  little 
girl,  of  about  ten  years  of  age,  came  to  me  with  a 
very  serious  ^v  imtenance,  and  said  she  "  wanted  me 
to  talk  good  v."d  her.  I  asked  her,  about  what] 
"About  God,"  taid  she.  I  told  her  something  of 
God,  of  Christ,  oi  our  natural  state  by  nature,  and 
the  way  of  salvvition  through  a  Mediator.  She 
appeared  much  impressed.  O,  may  the  Lord  work 
a  saving  change  in  her  dear  little  heart.  This  seems 
to  be  some  of  the  first  fruits  of  the  Sunday-school, 
for  she  goes  to  it.  *  *  *  This  evening  our  praying 
society  was  remarkably  well  attended — much  serious- 
ness and  devotion  was  manifested,  and  those  who 
prayed  were  enabled  to  pour  out  their  souls  before 
God  with  great  freedom.  O  that  it  would  please 
God  to  revive  his  work  in  this  place.     Dear  Lord, 


88  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

will  it  not  be  for  thy  g-ory'?  Will  it  not  magDify 
the  riches  of  thy  grace  1 

November  5th — Sunday.  This  day  I  spoke  for  the 
first  time  in  the  church  in  this  place.  The  Lord 
graciously  assisted  me,  and,  I  believe,  blessed  the 
word  in  some  measure.  Many  seemed  touched,  even 
to  tears.  This  encouraged  me  much,  for  I  was 
afraid  they  were  almost  perfectly  insensible.  I  be- 
lieve these  dry  bones  can  live,  if  the  Lord  only 
breathe  upon  them — Lord,  our  help  can  only  come 
from  thee.  In  the  afternoon  I  attended  the  second 
meeting  of  the  Simday-school;  a  great  many  persons 
attended,  besides  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  chil- 
dren. All  are  charmed,  yet  I  know  nothing  good 
will  come  of  it  unless  the  Lord  bless  the  institution. 
Gracious  God,  do  thou  deign  to  smile,  and  how 
many  of  these  dear  children  shall  be  made  happy  in 
thy  love.  Found  much  sweetness  in  devotional  exer- 
cises this  evening,  and  was  enabled  to  pray  in  much 
faith  and  earnestness  for  the  dear  children  of  this 
town;  and  not  for  them  only,  but  for  the  people  of 
Winchester  generally.  O  for  times  of  refreshing. 
I  feel  my  ovm  weakness  very  sensibly;  I  feel,  unless 
I  am  supported  by  divine  grace,  I  shall  certainly 
soon  fall  into  sin.  O,  Jesus,  I  lean  upon  thee ;  thou 
canst  bear  me  up  and  make  me  strong  against  temp- 
tation. 

November  9  th.  Last  evening  and  this  morning  I 
felt  remarkably  dull — no  freedom  in  any  religious 
exercises.  Without  divine  grace  I  see  I  can  do 
nothing.  What  a  poor  creature  I  am.  May  I  feel 
my  weakness  still  more   sensibly;   and  O,  may  it 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  89 

induce   me   to    lean    more    mareservedly   upon   my 
adorable  Saviour. 

Saturday,  November  ISth,  1815.  Situated  as  I 
am  in  Winchester,  having  the  temporary  charge  of 
two  congregations,  I  feel  it  proper  for  me,  this  day, 
to  draw  near  to  God  by  fasting  and  hruniliation,  that 
I  may,  in  an  especial  manner,  obtain  mercy  and  find 
grace  to  help  in  this  time  of  need.  In  reviewing  my 
feehngs  and  exercises  of  mind  since  I  began  publicly 
to  exhort  in  this  town,  I  find  I  have  the  most 
abimdant  cause  for  humiliation.  I  have  to  lament: 
1.  my  lukewarmness ;  2.  a  want  of  a  devoted  heart; 
3.  want  of  a  suitable  sense  of  the  value  of  souls,  and 
the  importance  of  eternal  concerns;  4.  my  want  of 
proper  fervour  in  my  private  devotional  exercises; 
5.  want  of  conduct  and  deportment  sufficiently  exem- 
plary. Whilst  I  would,  in  the  sincerity  of  my  heart, 
mourn  over  these  things,  I  would  desire  also  to 
lament  the  desolations  of  Zion  in  this  place;  that 
many  make  void  the  law  of  God,  and  that  even  real 
Christians,  in  this  town,  are  apparently  in  a  state  of 
sad  and  awful  declension.  O  for  the  spirit  of  a 
weeping  Jeremiah!  God  grant  that  I  may  this  day 
know  something  of  the  feehngs  of  the  pious  Psalmist 
when  he  said,  "  Rivers  of  waters  run  down  my  eyes 
because  they  keep  not  thy  law." 

Evening.  I  think  I  have  been  enabled  this  day, 
in  some  humble  measure,  to  mourn  over  my  past 
shortcomings,  and  to  wrestle  with  God  for  grace  to 
help  in  time  to  come.  I  have  had  some  enlargement 
of  heart  in  prayer  and  meditation,  and  have  been 
enabled  to  mourn  not  only  over  my  heart,  but  the 
desolations  of  Zion.  Help  me,  gracious  God,  hence- 
8* 


90  LIFE  AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

forth,  to  be  more  humble  and  exemplary  in  my  walk 
and  deportment,  and  more  useful  in  thy  Church. 

1816 — Spring.  The  last  winter  has  been  a  memo- 
rable winter  in  Winchester.  The  north  and  south 
winds  have  been  in  some  measure  felt  in  this  valley 
of  vision,  and  many  dry  bones  have  been  shaken. 
The  praying  society  has  been  much  blessed;  it  has 
been  uniformly  well  attended;  oftentimes  the  meet- 
ings were  remarkably  solemn,  much  feeling  was 
manifested  under  the  short  exhortations  that  were 
made,  and  frequently  the  power  of  God  was  felt 
throughout  the  whole  society.  O  what  sweet  and 
precious  seasons  have  we  been  favoured  with  during 
the  latter  part  of  the  winter.  The  recollection  of 
them  still  fills  my  soul  with  joy  and  gratitude.  At 
our  communion  season,  this  spring,  thirteen  were 
added  to  the  church;  the  most,  if  not  all  of  them,  it 
is  believed,  were  awakened  in  our  praying  society. 
Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  who  has  been  pleased  to 
bless  and  crown  with  visible  success  my  poor  weak 
labours  of  love.  Several  persons  who  have  not  as 
yet  joined  the  church,  seem  to  be,  at  this  time, 
sincerely  and  earnestly  inquiring  the  way  to  Zion; 
the  Lord  in  mercy  lead  them  to  Jesus,  the  sinner's 
friend. 

September  26  th.  The  summer  session  in  the 
Female  Academy  has  this  day  terminated.  In 
reviewing  my  conduct  during  the  session,  I  find  I 
have  the  most  abundant  cause  for  the  deepest 
humiliation  and  abasement  of  soul ;  and  I  desire  now 
to  take  some  low  place  at  the  foot  of  my  Jesus,  and 
fling  my  arms  around  his  blood-stained  cross.  O, 
nay  dying  Christ,  thou  art   my  hope,  my  joy,  my 


REY.    DANIEL   BAkER,   D.  D.  1)1 

only  Saviour.     The  past  session  has  been  an  eventful 
one  to  the  females  belonging  to  the  Academy;  my 
weekly  exhortations  to  them  have  been  blessed,  and 
a  number  have  been  awakened.     Scenes  truly  inter- 
esting have  been  presented;  about  fifteen  have  been 
seriously   impressed,   five   or   six    of  whom  give   a 
pleasing   evidence  of  a  saving  work  of  grace  upon 
their  hearts.     O,  my  Lord,  deal  gently  with  these 
precious  little  lambs,  and  keep  them  by  Almighty 
power  through  fliith  unto  salvation.     The  awakening 
in  the  Academy  has  excited  much  interest  in  town, 
and  while  some  have  rejoiced  in  it,  others  have  dis- 
approved of  the  work,  and  have  endeavoured  to  bring 
it   into   disrepute.      Many   slanderous   reports   have 
been  circulated,  and  I  have  been  caught  up  in  a  tem- 
pest of  persecution;  but  I  committed  all  to  the  Lord, 
and  endeavoured  to  endure  my  trials  patiently,  and 
continue  steadfast,  unmovable,  always  abounding  in 
the  work  of  the  Lord;  and  I  bless  God  I  have  not 
been  put  to  shame.     Every  thing  has  been  cleared 
up;    and  I  have   had   the  unutterable   pleasure  of 
seeing  several  of  the  young  ladies,  as  I  believe,  made 
savingly  acquainted  with  the  Lord  Jesus.     O,  how 
richly  am  I  recompensed  for  the  persecutions  I  have 
been  called  to  endure  for  the  sake  of  Christ.     O,  my 
God,  may  I  rejoice  in  tribulations,  if  so  be  thy  glory 
may  thereby  be  promoted. 

October  12th.  In  the  prospect  of  my  being  licensed 
in  the  coming  week,  I  have  set  apart  this  day,  by 
fasting  and  prayei,  to  draw  near  unto  the  Lord.  I 
am  now  about  to  go  forth  to  preach  the  everlasting 
gospel  to  poor,  perishing  sinners ;  to  proclaim  liberty 
to  the  captive,  and  the  opening  of  the  prison  to  those 


92  LIFE  AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

that  are  bound;  tc  proclaim  the  acceptable  year  of 
the  Lord.  O,  may  I  go  forth  in  the  strength  of  the 
mighty  One  of  Jacob,  and  lift  my  banner  in  the 
name  of  the  Captain  of  my  salvation!  I  know  that 
my  duties  will  be  arduous,  and  I  am  sensible  that  I 
am  not  sufficient  for  these  things;  but  I  know  in 
whom  I  trust;  it  is  not  in  myself,  it  is  not  in  any 
arm  of  flesh — it  is  in  the  living  God,  the  merciful 
and  covenant-keeping  God,  who  has  been  pleased  to 
say,  "  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee ;  my  strength 
shall  be  made  perfect  in  weakness."  To  thee,  O  my 
God,  do  I  commit  myself,  and  again  would  I  solemn- 
ly renew  the  dedication  of  myself  and  my  all  to  thy 
service.  O  condescend  to  accept  the  unworthy  offer- 
ing, and  lay  me  out  for  thy  glory.  T  ask  not  to  be 
rich  in  silver  and  gold,  and  to  be  admired  and 
caressed;  I  ask  to  be  rich  in  faith  and  good  works, 
and  to  be  blessed  and  owned  in  my  labours  of  love. 
I  ask  not  to  be  exempted  from  grievous  trials  and 
persecutions,  but  I  ask  grace  to  glorify  thee  in  the 
hour  of  trial ;  grace  to  be  useful,  grace  to  be  triumph- 
ant in  death,  and  grace  to  reach,  at  length,  the 
Mount  Zion  above,  where  I  may  for  ever  sing  the 
triumphs  of  my  dearest  Lord.  To  thee,  O  my  God, 
do  I  now  commit  my  way;  be  pleased  to  direct  my 
paths,  for  the  Redeemer's  sake.    Amen. 

Narrative  resumed: 

At  the  fall  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  of  Win- 
chester, which  held  its  sessions  in  Leesburg,  I  was 
licensed  to  preach  the  gospel;  but  I  must  confess  I 
was  by  no  means  prepared.  Mr.  Hill  had  strangely 
neglected  my  theological  studies,  and,  so  far  as  1  can 
now  recollect,  had  put  no  book  in  my  hand  save 


REV.   DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  93 

Butler's  Analogy.  I  however  made  great  use  of  the 
Shorter  Catechism ;  I  was  told  it  was  an  admirable 
"  summary,"  and  I  studied  that  and  my  Bible.  The 
Presbytery  debated  the  matter  two  days,  whether  I 
should  be  licensed  or  not.  Mr.  G.  opposed  it  with 
all  his  might.  Mr.  W.  and  a  few  others  advocated 
it,  and  endeavoured  to  show  that  my  case  was  a 
peculiar  one,  and  provided  for  by  the  constitution. 
Much  was  said  about  my  labours  and  success  in 
Winchester  and  other  places;  and-  whilst  Mr.  G. 
affirmed  that  I  was  "  born  to  trouble  the  church," 
my  fiiend,  Mr.  W.,  was  pleased  to  say  that  "the 
Lord  had  licensed  me."  My  other  parts  of  trial 
having  been  sustained,  I  was  required  to  deliver  my 
popular  discourse  from  the  pulpit.  The  text  assigned 
me  was  Eph.  ii.  8.  I  went  into  the  pulpit;  there 
was  a  great  crowd;  I  was  dashed,  and  began  my 
sermon  without  announcing  my  text!  In  a  few 
moments  I  thought  of  it,  and  became  a  little  more 
embarrassed;  but  in  a  short  time,  recovering  my 
self-possession,  I  managed  to  introduce  my  text,  and 
then  went  on  without  any  more  difficulty  to  the  end. 
I  spoke  with  great  earnestness;  tears  were  shed; 
and  I  have  since  heard  of  one  man,  and  he  a  rich 
man,  who  was  awakened  under  the  discourse.  The 
Sabbath  after  I  was  licensed  I  spent  in  a  town  not 
far  from  Leesburg — the  name  I  cannot  now  recollect. 
I  had  a  very  great  crowd,  and  I  hope  that  some  good 
impressions  were  made.  I  then  hurried  on  to  Alex- 
andria, District  of  Columbia,  whither  I  had  been 
invited  by  Mrs.  S.,  one  of  the  jewels  of  Dr.  Muir's 
church.  On  reaching  Alexandria,  Dr.  Muir  very 
courteously  invited  me  to  preach  for  him,  which  I 


94  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

did  on  Friday  night,  Saturday  night,  and  three  times 
on  the  Sabbath.  Awakening  influences  went  abroad 
in  a  most  remarkable  manner.  An  inquiry  or 
prayer-meeting  was  held  in  Dr.  Muir's  parlour,  on 
Monday  afternoon,  for  young  ladies.  The  room  was 
crowded  to  excess;  there  was  much  weeping;  some 
six  or  eight  persons,  I  think,  had  obtained  a  hope, 
and  perhaps  at  least  twenty  more  were  inquip\ig 
what  they  must  do  to  be  saved.  I  was  astonished, 
and  marvelled  that  my  few  sermons  should  be  so 
remarkably  blessed.  On  Monday  night  I  attended 
the  monthly  concert  meeting,  held  in  the  Methodist 
church;  after  the  services  closed,  I  suppose  one 
hundred  persons  came  up,  without  invitation,  and 
lingered  around  the  altar.  In  a  famihar  and  afiec- 
tionate  manner  I  continued  my  remarks  for  perhaps 
some  thirty  minutes,  urging  them  all,  with  full  pur- 
pose of  heart,  to  serve  the  Lord.  Many,  many  tears 
were  shed.  The  next  morning  I  left  for  Prince 
Edward,  where  my  wife  had  gone.  Dr.  Muir  and 
many  others  wer^  exceedingly  urgent  that  I  should 
remain  and  preach  a  few  days  longer;  but  my 
arrangements  were  made,  and  I  must  go.  Shortly 
after  reaching  Prince  Edward,  I  received  many  affec- 
tionate letters. 

In  compliance  with  letters  of  invitation,  I  returned 
to  Alexandria ;  but  in  consequence  of  some  domestic 
matters,  did  not  get  there  until  some  weeks  after  the 
period  fixed  upon.  I  was  received  very  cordially 
by  Dr.  Muir,  and  the  people  generally.  I  preached 
usually  to  large  congregations,  and  after  two  months 
I  left  for  Prince  Edward.  Upon  my  leaving  Alexan- 
dria there  was  a  meeting  of  the  congregation,  and  I 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  95 

was  duly  elected  collegiate  pastor.  Dr.  Muir  gave 
me  a  statement  of  the  matter.  I  then  wrote  him  a 
very  brief,  but  very  respectful  letter,  declining  the 
call.  Three  elders  out  of  five,  with  about  one-half 
of  the  congregation,  or  more,  broke  off;  and  the 
church  edifice  occupied  by  the  Episcopalians  being 
bought,  I  was  invited  to  become  pastor  of  the  second 
church.  This  afikir  grieved  me  much.  After  much 
thought  and  prayer,  I  declined;  and  having,  at  the 
same  time,  a  call  to  the  united  congregations  of 
Harrisonburg  and  New  Erection,  Rockingham  coun- 
ty, Virginia,  I  accepted  that,  recommending  Mr. 
Wells  Andrews  to  the  second  church,  Alexandria. 
This  brother  was  accordingly  duly  elected,  and  ofii- 
ciated  with  great  acceptance  as  their  pastor  for  many 
years. 

About  this  time,  with  my  brother  John,  (leaving 
my  wife  with  her  mother  in  Prince  Edward,)  I  paid 
a  visit  to  my  friends  and  relatives  in  Liberty  county, 
Georgia.  When  in  Savannah,  I  called  upon  Dr. 
Kollock;  told  him  who  I  was;  that  I  formerly 
attended  upon  his  ministry;  had  been  much  bene- 
fitted by  it;  and  that  I  was  now  a  licensed  preacher. 
The  doctor  was  much  pleased;  his  eyes  filled  with 
tears;  and,  it  being  Wednesday,  he  invited  me  to 
preach  for  him  that  night,  which  was  his  stated 
evening  for  preaching.  I  complied,  and  preached 
from  these  words:  "For  there  shall  be  no  night 
there."  The  next  day  my  brother  and  myself  reach- 
ed the  place  of  our  nativity,  and  received  a  very  cor- 
dial reception.  Remaining  in  the  county,  I  think 
about  two  weeks,  I  preached  in  various  places,  but 
chiefly  in  Midway  church  and   at  Riceboro'.     On 


96  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

every  occasion,  almost  without  exception,  I  had  a 
great  crowd.  There  was  a  very  considerable  reli- 
gious excitement,  and,  I  think,  some  ten  or  twelve 
persons  professed  conversion;  some,  however,  who 
were  much  wrought  upon,  I  fear,  fell  short  of  the 
mark.  I  will  state  a  case  or  two  which  excited 
much  interest.  One  Mr.  M.,  a  merchant  in  E.ice- 
boro',  a  very  profane  and  wicked  man,  was  invited  to 
hear  me  preach  in  the  court-house  on  a  certain  even- 
ing. "Go  to  hear  Mr.  Baker  preach!"  said  he,  "why 
I  would  not  go  across  the  street  to  hear  him."  Well, 
I  went  to  the  court-house  to  preach,  and  he  went  to 
bed.  As  his  chamber  was  not  very  far  from  the 
court-house,  as  the  sashes  were  up,  and  my  voice 
was  loud,  Mr.  F.  in  his  bed,  listened  to  me,  and  in 
his  bed  was  awakened.  Powerfully  wrought  upon, 
the  next  morning  he  came  down  out  of  his  chamber, 
having  a  very  serious  look,  and  did  not  swear  at  all 
as  he  was  wont  to  do.  His  servant  noticed  it,  and 
remarked,  that  he  did  not  know  what  was  the  matter 
with  his  master,  for  he  had  stopped  swearing.  The 
next  night  he  was  at  preaching,  and  seemed  to  be 
very  much  interested.  The  day  following,  he  went 
to  see  a  sick  friend  at  a  distance,  and  of  him  and  his 
impressions  I  could  hear  nothing  further.  Another 
case  which  may  be  mentioned  is  this.  Mr.  M.  M.,  a 
very  irreligious  man,  and  the  keeper  of  a  billiard- 
room,  was  powerfully  wrought  upon — did  not  profess 
conversion,  but  was  so  much  interested  in  the  preach- 
ing, that  when  I  was  coming  away  he  gave  me  fifty 
dollars.  On  my  second  visit  to  Georgia,  some  three 
or  four  years  after,  I  was  called  to  see  him  in  his 


REV.    DANIEL    BAKER,    D.  D.  97 

dying     chamber.      Alas!    I  fear  he   died   without 
hope. 

Leaving  Liberty  county,  still  in  company  with  my 
brother  John,  I  called  again  upon  Dr.  Kollock  in 
Savannah,  and  preached  for  him  a  second  time — my 
text,  Isaiah  Hv.  10.  This  sermon,  I  have  reason  to 
believe,  pleased  Dr.  Kollock  very  much;  and  I  am 
not  sure  but,  subsequently.  It  had  an  influence  in 
procuring  for  me  a  call  to  become  pastor,  upon  the 
death  of  that  great  and  good  man.  Receiving  a 
very  handsome  "purse,"  as  a  free-will  oflering  from 
my  friends  in  Midway,  and  also  having  received  my 
patrimony,  I  returned  to  Prince  Edward,  and  with 
my  first-born  child,  Howard,  I  hurried  on  to  Har- 
risonburg, to  which  place  I  had  received  a  call. 
During  my  absence  in  Georgia,  a  letter  had  been 
sent  to  me  at  Prince  Edward,  inviting  me  to  become 
seamen's  preacher  in  the  city  of  New  York;  but 
under  existing  circumstances,  I  could  not,  of  course, 
accept. 


CHAPTER    V. 

HARRISONBURG WASHINGTON    CITY. 

Settled  in  Harrisonburg,  I  was  ordained  and  in- 
stalled as  pastor  of  the  united  congregations  of  Har- 
risonburg and  New  Erection,  at  a  meeting  of  Pres- 
bytery held  in  Harrisonburg,  March  5th,  1818.  I 
preached  alternately  at  each  place.  Having  bought 
a  house  and  lot  in  town,  I  taught  school  for  some 
9 


98       *  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

two  or  three  years.  Amongst  those  taught  by  me 
were  Gessner  Harrison  and  Henry  Tutwiler,  both 
subsequently  distinguished  Professors;  the  first,  in 
the  University  of  Virginia,  the  other  in  Lagrange 
College,  Alabama. 

Prof.  Hanison,  in  a  note  penned  after  the  decease 
of  his  old  teacher,  says : 

"  For  some  years  of  my  boyhood  I  was  a  pupil  of 
the  late  Rev.  Daniel  Baker,  D.  D.,  and  have  always 
regarded  him  as  having  displayed,  in  a  veiy  eminent 
degree,  some  of  the  best  qualities  of  a  teacher  of 
youth.  To  say  that  he  was  diligent  and  faithful; 
that  he  showed  a  warm  solicitude  for  the  moral  as 
well  as  mental  improvement  of  his  pupils,  and  that 
his  heart  was  in  the  work  of  training  them  in  useful 
knowledge  and  virtue,  would  hardly  convey  an  ade- 
quate idea  of  the  enthusiastic  zeal  with  which  he 
laboured  in  his  school.  He  carried  into  it  the  same 
warm-hearted  energy  that  distinguished  his  efforts 
as  a  preacher.  It  was  not  strange,  considering  his 
character  as  a  teacher,  and  that  in  maintaining  dis- 
cipline he  happily  mingled  firmness  with  kindness, 
that  his  pupils  so  universally  and  so  greatly  loved 
and  respected  him." 

The  narrative  proceeds: 

Besides  preaching  regularly  in  my  two  churches 
on  the  Sabbath,  it  was  common  for  me  to  preach  on 
Saturdays  in  various  places  around.  It  pleased  God 
to  bless  my  labours,  and  there  were  considerable 
additions  to  both  churches.  Having  taken  a  mis- 
sionary tour  in  the  western  part  of  Virginia,  the  tour 
proved  to  be  so  interesting  and  successful,  that,  by 


REV.    DANIEL    BAKER,    D.  D.  99 

request,  my  journal  was  published;  and  I  began  to 
have  a  hankering  after  a  missionary  life — and  in  the 
year  1820  or  '21,  I  cannot  recollect  which,  I  resign- 
ed my  charge,  to  the  great  regret  of  the  people,  who 
gave  me  very  touching  proofs  of  their  most  affec- 
tionate regard.  I  recollect  the  remark  of  Mr.  J.  B., 
one  of  the  elders:  "Mr.  Baker,  you  have  endeared 
yourself  to  the  hearts  of  the  people."  Appointed  by 
the  Lexington  Presbytery,  I  went  to  the  General 
Assembly  in  Philadelphia,  intending  to  make  that 
my  starting  point.  Upon  the  dissolving  of  that 
Assembly,  I  set  out,  not  knowing  precisely  what 
ground  I  should  occupy.  Visiting  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, I  preached  several  sermons  in  various 
churches,  and  was  invited  to  remain  some  months 
and  preach  in  the  Navy  Building  to  a  congregation 
which  was  about  being  formed  into  a  new  church; 
the  church  edifice  near  the  President's  House  being 
nearly  finished.  After  preaching  several  weeks,  I 
hope  with  some  success,  I  received  a  letter  from  my 
wife  in  Prince  Edward,  communicating  the  melan- 
choly intelligence  of  the  death  of  my  second  son. 
Leaving  Washington  suddenly,  I  hurried  on  to  my 
afiiicted  companion,  and  together  we  mingled  our 
tears  over  the  grave  of  as  lovely  and  promising  a 
child,  we  thought,  as  ever  lived.  Although  only 
about  a  year  old,  there  was  something  uncommonly 
noble  in  his  looks.  After  leaving  Washington,  I 
was  duly  elected  pastor.  This  call  was  sent  to  me  to 
Liberty  county,  whither  I  had  gone  with  my  wife 
and  two  small  children.  While  in  the  place  of  my 
nativity,  I  preached  several  sermons  in  the  church 
at  Midway,  and  the  borough.     There  was  some  reli- 


100  LIFE    AND    LABOURS    OF    THE 

gious  excitement,  and  a  few,  but  not  many,  cases  of 
conversion.  One  case  may  be  mentioned,  of  a  Mr. 
Way,  an  uncommonly  fine  man,  who  soon  became  a 
very  prominent  and  useful  member  of  the  church, 
but  who  was  suddenly  snatched  away  by  death,  I 
think  in  less  than  one  year  after  his  conversion,  and 
in  a  remarkable  manner.  It  was  winter — there 
came  up  a  thundergust — Mr.  Way  stepped  to  the 
sash  to  let  it  down,  there  came  a  flash  of  lightning, 
and  he  fell  dead ! — only  one  flash  of  lightning,  and 
that  was  made,  as  Elijah's  chariot,  to  take  him  to 
heaven. 

Leaving  Midway,  upon  my  return  to  Virginia,  I 
was  requested  to  spend  two  Sabbaths  in  Savannah, 
and  preach  in  the  pulpit  recently  vacated  by  the 
death  of  that  eloquent  man.  Dr.  Henry  Kollock.  I 
consented.  I  preached  three  times  the  first  Sabbath, 
and  held  some  meetings  during  the  week  following. 
On  the  next  Sabbath  I  had  four  appointments;  in 
the  morning  at  half-past  ten,  in  the  church ;  at  noon, 
to  the  seamen ;  at  half-past  three  P.  M.  in  the  church, 
and  at  night  in  the  church  again.  Having  arranged 
my  subjects,  and  made  all  needful  preparation  for 
these  four  services,  on  Saturday,  about  ten  o'clock  at 
night,  I  was  called  upon  by  a  gentleman,  and  in- 
formed that  Mrs.  Clay,  a  lady  of  great  note,  and  a 
mother  in  Israel,  had  died,  and  he  came  to  request 
that  I  would  preach  her  fmieral  sermon  in  the  church 
the  next  day,  in  the  afternoon.  I  was  alarmed.  I 
had  prepared  four  discourses,  but  not  one  would  suit ! 
I  had  no  time,  that  night,  to  prepare  an  appropriate 
discourse,  nor  could  I  have  time  on  the  morrow.  I 
had  reason  to  believe  that  there  would  be  a  very 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  101 

great  crowd  in  that  large  and  splendid  church,  and 
that,  from  the  very  high  standing  of  the  deceased, 
something  extraordinary  would  be  expected.  I  could 
not  refuse  to  preach;  but  what  shall  be  donel — and 
to  crown  the  matter,  on  Monday  I  was  to  be  brought 
forward  by  certain  friends  as  a  candidate  for  pastor. 
I  never  felt  so  frightfidly  situated,  scarcely,  in  all 
my  life.  When  the  gentleman  retired,  I  took  up  my 
manuscripts,  and  found  that  I  had  one  sermon  from 
this  text,  "  To  me,  to  die  is  gain."  O,  that  sermon ! 
I  was  so  glad  to  see  it;  and  I  was  familiar  with  it, 
and  on  one  occasion  particularly,  I  had  preached  it, 
and  the  whole  congregation  was  so  melted  do^vn,  that 
there  was  not,  I  suppose,  a  dry  eye  in  the  house!  I 
seized  the  manuscript  with  great  eagerness  and  joy; 
I  would  not  have  taken  one  hundred  dollars  for  it. 
The  next  day  we  had  a  full  house  in  the  morning,  in 
the  afternoon  a  great  crowd — I  suppose  there  were 
some  twelve  or  fifteen  hundred  persons  present.  I 
preached;  and  if  I  ever  received  assistance  from  on 
high,  it  was  on  that  occasion.  The  orphan  children, 
to  whom  Mrs.  Clay  had  been  as  a  mother,  were  all 
in  their  neat  dresses,  seated  before  me.  I  had  great 
liberty  in  preaching.  There  was  much  feeling  and 
deep  solemnity.  The  character  of  the  deceased  was 
so  excellent,  I  could  scarcely  say  too  much;  and 
every  individual  in  that  great  congregation  fully  be- 
lieved with  me,  that  to  this  mother  in  Israel  "  to  die 
was  gain."  All  believed  that  she  was  that  moment 
with  her  Saviour  in  heaven,  radiant  in  glory.  The 
next  day  I  was  elected  by  an  overwhelming  majority. 
I  had  now  two  calls  in  my  hand:  one,  to  become 
pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  Washing- 
9* 


102  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

ton;  the  other,  to  become  pastor  of  the  Independent 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Savannah.  The  salary  offered 
in  the  one  case  was  comparatively  small,  the  other 
large.  After  much  reflection  and  prayer,  I  decided 
in  favour  of  Washington  City  and  a  small  salary.  In 
a  day  or  two  I  embarked,  with  my  little  family,  for 
Philadelphia.  Upon  reaching  Washington  City,  I 
was  cordially  welcomed  by  my  little  church,  consist- 
ing of  only  thirty-nine  members.  My  salary  was 
only  six  hundred  dollars;  but  the  Commissioner  of 
the  Land  Office,  Mr.  Jonathan  Meigs,  soon  gave  me 
a  clerkship  with  a  salary  of  eight  hundred  doUars. 
As  one  of  the  clerks  in  the  Land  Office,  I  was 
required  to  write  six  days  in  the  week,  from  nine 
o'clock  in  the  morning  until  three,  P.  M.  This  was 
a  great  drawback  to  me.  I  entered  upon  my  pastoral 
labours  with  much  zeal;  I  preached  usually  three 
times  in  the  church  on  the  Sabbath,  and  also  on 
Wednesday  evening:  besides  this,  I  attended  a  prayer- 
meeting,  in  some  private  house,  on  Friday  evenings. 
Our  meetings  were  usually  well  attended;  and 
although  we  never  had  what  is  called  a  revival,  we 
had  what  may  be  called  heavenly  dew.  Nearly  all 
the  time  that  I  resided  in  the  city,  at  every  commu- 
nion, I  believe  without  a  single  exception,  we  had 
some  added  on  profession;  so  that  when  I  resigned 
my  charge,  in  the  spring  of  1828,  the  number  of 
communicants  had  increased  to  one  hundred  and 
forty-two;  and  this  not  including  those  who  had 
died,  or  had  been  been  dismissed. 

During  one  season,  besides  preaching  three  times 
in  the  church  on  the  Sabbath,  I  preached  in  the 
afternoon    in    the    market-house    on    Pennsylvania 


KEY.  DANIEL    BAKER,    D.  D.  103 

Avenue,  to  a  mixed  multitude  of  loafers,  loungers, 
the  sons  of  the  bottle  and  the  sons  of  Ham.  I  hope 
much  good  was  done  by  this  act  of  obedience  to  the 
command,  "  Go  out  into  the  streets  and  lanes  of  the 
city  and  compel  them  to  come  in."  One  person, 
who  subsequently  became  a  member  of  my  church, 
ascribed  his  conversion,  under  God,  to  the  preaching 
in  the  market-house;  and  I  may  mention  another 
case,  in  some  respects  very  remarkable.  Colonel  D., 
a  negro  trader,  being  in  the  city  and  wandering 
about,  was  attracted  by  the  crowd  to  the  market- 
house  and  heard  me  preach.  He  was  awakened: 
the  next  Sabbath  afternoon  he  came  again,  and  his 
impressions  were  deepened.  Resolving  on  a  reforma- 
tion, he  laid  aside  the  intoxicating  bowl,  and  began 
to  read  some  religious  tracts  which  were  given  to 
him.  On  the  Saturday  evening  preceding  the  third 
Sabbath,  he  came  into  Mr.  Wailes'  shop  and  asked 
him  if  he  knew  in  what  church  the  man  preached 
who  was  wont  to  preach  in  the  market-house.  ''  He 
is  my  pastor,"  said  Mr.  Wailes,  "  and  I  will  be  happy 
to  give  you  a  seat  in  my  pew  to-morrow  morning." 
Colonel  D.  politely  accepted  the  invitation.  The 
next  morning  Mr.  W.  called  for  the  Colonel  to  take 
him  to  church,  when  lo!  he  was  dead!  O,  how 
uncertain  is  life,  and  how  important  to  be  always 
ready ! 

The  following  incident  is  related  as  connected 
with  this  period: 

There  was  a  man  residing  in  Washington  at  this 
time,  named  S.,  proprietor  of  one  of  the  principal 
hotels.     He  was  a  man  of  notorious  character,  very 


104  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

loose  in  his  morals,  and  no  respecter  of  the  house  of 
God.  Probably  he  had  not  visited  a  place  of  worship 
for  more  than  fifteen  years.  Some  of  Dr.  Baker's 
friends  were  speaking  one  day  of  their  pastor,  and 
liis  excellent  sermons,  in  presence  of  S.,  and  sug- 
gested that  as  the  church  was  not  far  distant,  he 
ought  to  go  and  hear  so  eminent  a  minister.  S., 
half  in  earnest  and  half  in  jest,  replied  to  Mr.  W., 
(the  gentleman  conversing  with  liim,)  "Tell  Mr. 
Baker  that  I  will  go  and  hear  him  preach  with  great 
pleasure,  if  he  will  take  for  his  text,  "  Let  every  7nan 
mind  his  own  business.''  Mr.  W.  reported  the  con- 
versation to  Dr.  Baker,  who  determined  at  once  to 
catch  him,  and  sent  word  that  he  would  make  that 
the  subject  of  his  sermon  next  Sabbath  morning. 
S.,  according  to  his  promise,  appeared  in  the  house 
of  God,  and  Dr.  Baker,  announcing  his  text  in  the 
following  words,  "And  that  y?  study — to  do  your 
own  business,"  1  Thess.  iv.  2,  proceeded  in  a  sermon 
so  impressive  and  spiritual  in  its  application,  that 
the  hotel-keeper  was  completely  overcome.  The 
result  was,  that  S.  immediately  took  a  pew  in  the 
church,  and  was  ever  after  a  regular  attendant  upon 
the  means  of  grace. 

About  this  period  Dr.  Baker,  at  the  request  of  his 
church,  visited  New  York  city  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  pecuniary  aid  therefor.  It  seems,  however, 
that  only  some  five  hundred  dollars  was  obtained  by 
liim  during  the  tour.  He  had  not  as  yet  learned,  as 
he  afterward  most  certainly  did,  the  one  secret  of 
success  in  begging.  In  June,  1821,  he  paid  a  rapid 
visit  to  Virginia,  during  which  he  wrote  the  follow- 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  105 

ing  letter  to  Mr.  J.  H.  Handy.  This  gentleman 
was  an  elder  of  the  Washington  church,  and,  when 
Dr.  Baker  was  elected  pastor,  was  opposed  to  his 
settlement.  Acquiescing,  however,  in  the  call,  Mr. 
Handy  soon  became,  and  remained  ever  after,  one  of 
his  warmest  friends.  Perhaps  no  two  men  were  ever 
more  alike  in  spirit,  and  the  attachment  between 
them  was  as  that  of  Jonathan  and  David,  as  will 
appear  from  the  correspondence.  To  the  day  of  his 
death.  Dr.  Baker  often  spoke  of  Mr.  Handy  as  a 
model  elder.  A  son  of  this  excellent  man  is  now 
pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Portsmouth, 
Virginia. 

"Harrisonburg,  25th  June,  1824. 

"My  DEAR  Friend — Amidst  the  greetings  of  my 
friends  here,  I  can  find  scarcely  a  leisure  moment; 
yet  I  have  retired  to  drop  you  a  line.  I  reached 
Prince  Edward,  with  my  family,  on  Wednesday  after 
leaving  Washington.  Owing  to  a  kind  Providence, 
nothing  disastrous  occurred  on  our  journey.  On  our 
arrival,  there  was  no  little  joy,  I  assure  you.  On 
Saturday,  and  on  Sabbath  last,  I  preached  at  the 
College.  It  being  a  sacramental  occasion,  there  was 
a  very  large  congregation.  It  was  a  solemn  and' 
interesting  season,  but  nothing  very  remarkable  took 
place. 

"On  Tuesday  I  left  Prince  Edward  for  this 
place,  and  had  the  pleasure  last  evening  of  saluting 
my  old  friends  here.  The  expressions  of  their  affec- 
tion for  me  have  affected  me  very  sensibly.  I  never 
knew  before  the  full  strength  of  their  affection.  It 
pleased  God  to  bless  my  labours  amongst  this  people 


106  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

ill  times  past;  on  this  account,  I  suppose,  they  bear 
me  in  such  affectionate  remembrance.  The  God  of 
heaven  bless  them  yet  more  and  more. 

"  I  have  thought  about  you  all  in  Washington  very 
frequently  and  affectionately.  They  share  in  my 
daily  prayers.  I  hope  our  excellent  elders  have 
been  doing  a  great  deal  of  good  during  my  absence  ; 
the  Lord  encourage  them  to  engage  earnestly  and 
actively  in  his  service,  and  grant  a  rich  blessing. 
You  have  had  no  difficulty,  I  hope,  in  getting  the 
pidpit  supplied;  I  wonder  if  I  ought  not  formally 
to  have  requested  from  the  Session  leave  of  absence. 
The  thing  never  occurred  to  me  until  I  had  set  out 
on  my  journey;  but  I  have  quieted  my  conscience 
in  this  way — The  visit  was  long  in  contemplation ; 
I  had  spoken  of  it  repeatedly  to  yourself  and  others ; 
no  objections  had  been  made ;  but  still,  I  do  think  it 
was  proper  to  have  stated  it  to  the  Session.  This 
plan,  I  think,  ought  to  be  observed  in  all  our 
churches;  it  is  the  plan  I  shall  observe  in  time  to 
come. 

"Can  you  read  this  scrawl  1 — it  is  really  shameful; 
but  as  my  stay  here  is  so  short,  I  am  pressed  for 
time ;  besides,  I  have  this  very  afternoon  to  preach  a 
'funeral  sermon.  Having  many  things  to  write  unto 
you,  I  would  not  write  with  paper  and  ink,  but  I 
trust  I  shall  shortly  see  thee,  and  speak  face  to  face. 
Peace  be  to  thee.  Greet  the  friends  by  name.  My 
particular  respects  to  your  family. 

Yours,  very  sincerely, 

Daniel  Baker." 

But  the  pastor  hastens  back  to  the  charge  he  loved 


REV.  DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  107 

SO  well.     After   liis   death,   a  Baptist  brother  thus 
speaks  of  this  period  of  Dr.  Baker's  history: 

"I  remember  him  well.  During  a  residence  of 
^Ye  years  in  and  near  Washington,  District  of  Colum- 
bia, I  frequently  attended  at  his  place  of  worship.  I 
preferred  his  ministry,  not  because  it  was  the  most 
intellectual,  but  because  it  was  spiritual,  fervent,  and 
enforced  by  a  consistent  life.  He  was  a  man  of 
prayer;  he  preached  to  save  souls;  he  walked  with 
God.  For  more  than  thirty  years  I  have  not  seen 
him;  but  I  have  often  been  gratified  by  hearing  of 
his  evangelical  labours,  and  his  abundant  success. 
Twenti/  thousand  converts!  What  a  host  of  gems 
for  one  servant  to  collect  out  of  the  rubbish  of  a  de- 
praved world  for  his  Master's  crown!  Knowing  the 
man  as  he  was  from  1822  to  1827,  I  can  easily 
understand  the  secret  of  his  usefulness.  He  sought 
the  appointed  end ;  he  laboured  upon  the  appointed 
plan;  he  used  the  appointed  means.  He  was  sin- 
cere, earnest,  simple-minded.  He  did  one  thing, 
and  did  it  well.     Surely  his  rest  was  glorious." 

The  autobiography  proceeds : 

It  was  usual  for  me  to  write  one  sermon  with  care, 
and  commit  it  to  memory  for  Sabbath  morning ;  for 
other  occasions  I  had  only  brief  notes,  and  sometimes 
no  written  notes  at  all;  and  here  I  will  mention  an 
incident  which  turned  out  better  than  I  feared.  One 
Sabbath  afternoon,  just  as  I  had  announced  my  text, 
which  was  this — "Ephraim  is  a  cake  not  turned" — 
John  Quincy  Adams,  the  Secretary  of  State,  stepped 
in,  and  walking  up  the  aisle,  took  his  seat  near  the 
pulpit.     The  reverence  which  I  had  for  this  great 


108  LIFE    AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

man,  the  singularity  of  the  text,  and  my  want  of 
due  preparation,  all  united  to  disconcert  me;  I  was 
thrown  off  my  balance,  and  preached,  as  I  then 
thought,  and  still  think,  a  very  indifferent  discourse. 
It  had,  however,  one  excellence,  not  found  in  most 
of  my  sermons — it  was  very  short;  not  more  than 
twenty  or  twenty-five  minutes  long.  When  I  finish- 
ed, I  was  excessively  mortified,  and  thought  I  would 
never  see  the  Secretary  of  State  in  that  church 
again;  but,  to  my  astonishment,  the  next  week  I 
was  told  he  had  rented  one  of  the  best  pews  in  the 
church.  Whether  the  exceeding  brevity  of  my  ser- 
mon pleased  him,  or  the  freedom  with  which  I 
pointed  out  the  inconsistencies  of  professing  Chris- 
tians, or  whether  he  had  previously  resolved  to  take 
a  pew  at  any  rate,  I  know  not;  but  one  thing  I 
soon  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing — that  Mr.  Adams 
had  taken  a  pew;  and  that  was  not  all — soon  after, 
the  Secretary  of  State  became  one  of  the  most  effi- 
cient trustees  of  my  church,  and  one  of  the  best 
friends  I  ever  had.  As  a  proof  of  this,  on  a  certain 
emergency  he  loaned  the  church  twelve  hundred 
dollars;  and,  on  another  occasion,  having  bought  a 
house  for  twelve  hundred  dollars,  to  be  paid  in  four 
instalments,  I  called  upon  Mr.  Adams,  at  that  time 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  asked  him  to 
lend  me  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  which  I  pro- 
mised to  pay  in  a  short  time.  He  listened  with 
much  interest,  inquired  all  about  the  matter,  and, 
when  informed  that  the  gentleman  from  whom  I 
bought  the  house  resided  in  Ohio,  he  said,  "  I  think, 
Mr.  Baker,  I  had  better  advance  the  whole  amount, 
and  you  can  pay  me."     This  was  most  generous  and 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  109 

most  unexpected.  I  expressed  my  gratitude,  and 
observed,  "  If  I  pay  the  full  amount  down,  the  gen- 
tleman would,  no  doubt,  allow  some  considerable 
discount."  "  That,"  replied  he,  "  will  be  your  advan- 
tage." Thus  saying,  he  took  up  his  pen  and  gave 
me  a  check  on  the  bank  for  twelve  hundred  dollars. 
This  was  certainly  doing  a  handsome  thing  very 
handsomely;  but  not  more  so  than  another  thing  a 
few  years  after.  Wishing  to  sell  my  house,'  on  going 
to  Savannah,  I  requested  a  friend  to  call  upon  the 
President,  and  ask  him  if  he  would  not  like  to  pur- 
chase my  house,  and  if  so,  what  he  would  give. 
Mr.  Adams  told  him  that  he  had  no  particular  wish 
to  purchase  the  house,  but  he  would  give  me  fifteen 
hundred  dollars  cash,  and  would  be  willing  I  should 
have  six  months  to  look  around  and  see  if  I  could 
not  do  better.  This  was  another  noble  act.  I  need 
scarcely  say  that  I  sold  the  house  to  him,  and  was 
promptly  paid. 

Mr.  Adams  never  failed  to  be  in  his  pew  on  Sab- 
bath afternoon,  whatever  might  be  the  weather,  and 
was  a  most  attentive  hearer.  After  he  took  a  pew 
in  my  church,  and  became  a  trustee,  it  seemed  to 
come  more  into  notice.  Mr.  Crawford,  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  and  Judge  Southard,  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  each  took  a  pew,  and  so  did  General 
Jackson,  then  a  Senator.  Here  I  may  mention  an 
incident,  of  which  I  am  reminded  by  mentioning  the 
name  of  Judge  Southard.  A  certain  debt  pressing 
heavily  upon  the  church,  one  of  the  elders,  Mr. 
James  Handy,  and  myself,  were  sent  out  on  a  "beg- 
ging expedition,"  and  succeeded  in  getting  all  that 
we  needed,  except  seven  hundred  dollars.  At  the 
10 


110  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

suggestion  of  a  friend,  I  procured  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Judge 
Southard,  to  Captain  Downs,  of  the  "Delaware,"  a 
seventy-four  gun  ship,  at  that  time  lying  of  Annapo- 
lis. I  went — presented  the  letter  to  the  commander 
of  the  "man-of-war."  He  received  me  very  courte- 
ously, permitted  me  to  preach  to  the  officers  and 
seamen,  and  take  up  a  collection.  I  did  so,  and 
came  away  completely  successful,  having  obtained 
the  full  amount  which  I  told  them  we  needed,  viz. 
seven  hundred  dollars. 

Shortly  after  this,  my  friend,  the  Commissioner  of 
the  General  Land  Office,  having  died,  and  a  new 
Commissioner  having  been  appointed,  "who  knew 
not  Joseph,"  I,  with  some  five  or  six  other  clerks, 
were  put  out  of  office.  As  the  number  of  clerks  was 
to  be  reduced,  a  lottery  was  resorted  to.  I  refused 
to  put  my  hand  into  the  wheel,  and  said,  if  the  Com- 
missioner wished  to  dismiss  me,  I  was  ready  to  go 
out,  but  I  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  lottery. 
One  of  my  elders  was  appointed  to  act  in  my  place; 
he  put  his  hand  into  the  wheel,  and  drew  out  a 
blank,  and  I  had  to  go.  This  proved  a  kind  provi- 
dence to  me,  and  although  it  was  a  serious  matter — 
suddenly  reduced  from  fourteen  hundred  to  six  hun- 
dred dollars — I  did  not  much  regret  it,  even  at  the 
time,  for  I  had  often  had  some  scruples  of  conscience 
about  the  propriety  of  my  employing  so  much  of  my 
time  in  a  business  which  had  no  bearing  upon  my 
ministerial  office.  Upon  being  suddenly  cut  off  from 
this  source  of  income,  I  confess  I  felt  very  badly,  and 
did  not  know  what  to  do.  My  people  expressed 
great  sympathy,  raised  my  salary  to  eight  hundred 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  Ill 

dollars,  and  expressed  a  willingness  to  do  more; 
but  I  could  not  bear  the  thought  of  being  a  burden 
to  them,  and  resolved  to  do  what  I  could  to  support 
myself.  I  got  some  writing  to  do  from  the  Land 
Office,  and  for  a  short  time  I  assisted  Mr.  B.  in  his 
school.  But  all  this  was  not  enough,  the  indications 
of  reduced  circumstances  soon  began  to  appear  in 
my  furniture,  wardrobe,  and  table-fare. 

Just  at  this  time,  when  my  prospects  for  temporal 
support  were  very  dark  and  discouraging — yes,  just 
at  this  time,  I  received  a  second  call  to  the  Inde- 
pendent Presbyterian  Church  in  Savannah.  Sending 
my  family,  consisting  of  my  wife,  three  sons  and  one 
daughter,  to  spend  the  summer  in  Prince  Edward, 
I  left  Washington  amid  the  deep  regrets  of  my 
people;  and  the  trustees  had  the  kindness  to  vote 
me  a  beautiful  Bible,  as  a  token  of  their  affectionate 
regard.  I  reached  Savannah,  and  under  very  propi- 
tious auspices  I  entered  upon  my  pastoral  labours. 
In  the  fall  of  that  year  I  had  the  pleasure  of  having 
all  my  family  with  me. 

During  Dr.  Baker's  pastorate  in  Washington  he 
published  A  Scriptural  View  of  Baptism^  which  was 
extensively  circulated,  with  the  happiest  effects  at 
the  time,  as  facts  abundantly  testify.  Many  years 
after,  the  same  tract,  revised  and  enlarged,  was  pub- 
lished by  the  Board  of  Publication.  The  same  trea- 
tise, added  to,  and  yet  condensed,  was  afterwards 
published  under  the  somewhat  quaint  title  of  Bap- 
tism  in  a  Nutshell.  This  last  httle  book  contains 
a  clear  summary  of  the  whole  argument,  both  in 
regard  to  the  subject  and  mode  of  baptism,  and  has 


112  LIFE  AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

decided  many  a  doubting  mind.  In  all  the  range 
of  Scripture  doctrine,  there  was  not  one  in  regard 
to  which  Dr.  Baker  was  more  thoroughly  convinced 
and  ardently  interested  than  this.  Those  who  have 
witnessed  his  administration  of  this  holy  ordinance 
to  adult,  or  to  infant  in  the  arms  of  its  parents, 
will  remember  his  deep  sincerity  and  solemnity. 
He  took  peculiar  pleasure  in  administering  the 
ordinance  to  an  adult,  and  none  the  less  to  the 
infant  offspring  of  believing  parents.  Though  never 
indulging  in  a  controversial  spirit,  in  or  out  of  the 
pulpit,  on  this  or  any  other  point  of  difference 
among  evangelical  Christians,  he  regarded  with 
unconcealed  disHke  an  exaltation  of  a  mere  sign 
above  the  essential  and  all-important  thing  signi- 
fied; regarded,  with  even  horror,  the  violent  and 
unwarranted,  as  he  thought,  exclusion  of  the  lambs 
of  the  flock  from  the  fold  of  the  Shepherd  of  the 
sheep;  of  the  children  of  believing  members  from 
that  membership  in  the  Church  of  God,  which  he 
was  persuaded  they  held  from  the  very  origin  thereof; 
a  membership,  as  he  believed,  attested  by  all  his- 
tory, sacred  and  profane ;  based  upon  all  principles, 
human  and  divine;  decreed  by  ordinances  never 
abrogated,  and  wrought  into  the  very  texture  of 
revelation,  as  they  are  into  the  very  heartstrings  of 
connubial  and  filial  relationship. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  in  what  light  Dr.  Baker 
was  regarded  by  those  who  were  most  intimate  with 
him  at  this  time.  Looking  back  over  the  many 
years  which  have  elapsed  since  then.  Dr.  S.  Collins, 
of  Baltimore,  thus  speaks : 

"In  the  autumn  of  1823;  I  settled  in  Washington, 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  113 

District  of  Columbia,  as  a  practitioner  of  medicine, 
and  became  a  member  of  the  church  of  which  Dr. 
Baker  was  pastor.  In  a  short  time  I  was  elected 
an  elder;  so  that,  by  membership  and  eldership,  I 
had  opportunities  for  intimate  knowledge  of  his 
character  from  that  time  to  the  period  of  his  re- 
moval from  Washington. 

"The  incipiency  of  the  enterprise  which  resulted 
in  the  organization  of  that  church,  was  conducted 
by  Dr.  Baker  with  indomitable  energy  and  signal 
success;  but  the  salary  he  received  not  being  suffi- 
cient for  the  support  of  his  family,  he  was  con- 
strained to  accept  a  clerkship  in  one  of  the  public 
departments.  He  greatly  regretted  this  diversion  of 
so  much  valuable  time  from  what  he  considered  to 
be  the  great  work  of  his  life;  and,  if  my  memory  be 
accurate,  this  consideration  was  a  prominent  induce- 
ment in  seeking  another  field  of  labour. 

"Dr.  Baker  secured,  in  a  very  eminent  degree,  the 
devoted  affection  of  his  people.  This  he  attained 
by  the  faithful  discharge  of  pastoral  duties,  public 
and  private ;  by  the  guilelessness  of  his  transparent 
character;  by  the  warmth  and  sincerity  of  his 
friendships.  Whenever  he  appeared  in  the  pulpit, 
the  audience  saw  that  he  was  not  preaching  himself, 
but  Jesus  Christ.  His  delivery  was  very  earnest, 
and  generally  his  discourses  were  practical  in  their 
character.  His  power  of  endurance  was  very  re- 
markable, and  he  was  always  ready  to  preach  when- 
ever  and  wherever  opportunity  offered.  He  was 
deeply  impressed  with  a  conviction  of  the  import- 
ance of  meetings  for  prayer  to  the  spiriual  pros- 
perity of  a  church;  and  on  such  occasions  he  was 
10* 


114  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

most  earnest  in  his  addresses,  and  devout  in  his 
supphcations.  After  thirty  years  have  passed  I  re- 
tain a  most  pleasing  recollection  of  a  miion  prayer- 
meeting,  held  at  six  o'clock  on  mornings  of  the  Sah- 
bath,  and  attended  by  male  members  of  different 
denominational  associations.  I  have  often  heard 
him  on  such  occasions,  when  the  holy  man,  in  sub- 
dued tones  of  voice,  with  choked  utterance  and  flow- 
ing tears,  poured  out  his  whole  soul  in  supplication 
to  the  God  whom  he  adored.  It  was  impossible  to 
fail  in  discovering  that  the  Holy  Spirit  was  dwelling 
in  and  communing  with  him. 

"During  the  latter  .period  of  his  ministry  in 
Washington,  there  was  increased  attention  to  reli- 
gious interests  in  all  the  churches.  Ministers  from 
abroad  laboured  there  with  great  zeal;  perhaps  not 
always  with  entire  discretion.  In  the  church  of 
Dr.  Baker  the  means  employed  were  frequent  meet- 
ings for  prayer,  private  visitation,  and  personal  con- 
versation. We  excluded  all  'machinery,'  in  the 
popular  acceptation  of  the  word.  The  result  was  a 
deep  and  quiet  religious  impression  among  the  peo- 
ple, and  a  large  accession  to  the  membership  of  the 
church.  This  season  was  not  succeeded  by  any  of 
those  distressing  cases  of  apostasy  which  too  often 
follow  merely  animal  excitements,  and  hasty  admis- 
sions. If,  on  application  for  admission,  the  case  was 
doubtful,  or  too  recent,  the  Session  held  it  for  fur- 
ther consideration.  In  all  revivals,  as  in  all  cases  of 
individual  conviction,  the  chief  business  of  the  sin- 
ner is  between  God  and  liis  own  soul. 

"I  met  Dr.  Baker  only  once  after  his  departure 
from  Washington.     I  believe  he  made  several  visits 


i 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  115 

to  that  place;  but  as  I  removed  to  Baltimore  in 
1832,  I  did  not  meet  him.  The  occasion  to  which  I 
refer  was  a  few  years  before  his  death,  when  he 
called  on  me  as  he  was  passing  through  Baltimore 
on  his  way  home,  after  a  visit  to  the  North.  The 
interview  was  short;  but,  short  as  it  was,  he  took 
occasion  to  ask  me  if  I  was  as  much  engaged  in  the 
service  of  God  as  in  former  years.  And  this  little 
incident  revealed  the  man  in  his  true  character — 
always  seeking  after  opportunities  to  serve  his 
Master. 

"  His  ingenuousness,  the  guileless,  artless  simplicity 
of  his  character,  was  very  attractive.  His  character 
was  patent,  revealed  by  every  look,  word,  and  deed. 
Meaning  no  harm,  and  thinking  none,  he  indulged 
no  suspicions  of  others.  "We  do  not .  often  find,  in 
eminent  combination,  the  wisdom  of  the  serpent 
with  the  harmlessness  of  the  dove.  Memory  is  often 
employed  with  associations  in  connection  with  this 
good  man,  and  recalls  scenes  when  we  mingled 
together  in  the  communion  of  the  Holy  Ghost — 
places  which  might  have  been  named  Jehovah- 
Shammah,  "The  Lord  is  there."  (Ezek.  xlviii.  35.) 

"  Dr.  Baker  possessed,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the 
spirit  of  a  missionary.  Gentle  as  he  was  in  spirit, 
he  was  a  stranger  to  the  emotion  of  fear,  and  no 
'lions  in  the  way'  would  have  turned  him  aside 
from  unblenching  progress  in  the  path  to  which 
duty  led.  He  would  have  been,  like  Paul,  faithful 
in  perils,  in  weariness  and  painfulness,  in  watchings, 
in  hunger  and  thirst,  in  fastings,  in  cold  and  naked- 
ness. The  spirit  of  love  made  him  desire  that  all 
might  partake  of  the  only  true  riches.     Hence  he 


116  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

rejoiced  in  labours  as  an  evangelist;  and  in  this 
field  he  employed  portions  of  his  useful  life.  The 
Holy  Spirit  was  pleased  to  accompany  his  labours 
with  that  influence,  without  which  the  talents  of  an 
angel  would  not  avail. 

"Like  Enoch,  he  'walked  with  God;'  like  Abra- 
ham, 'by  faith  he  looked  for  a  city  which  hath 
foundations,  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God;'  Hke 
Stephen,  he  was  'a  man  full  of  faith  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost ;'  like  Nathanael,  he  was  '  an  Israelite 
indeed,  in  whom  is  no  guile." 


CHAPTEE    VI. 

PASTORATE     IN      SAVANNAH. 

The  following  letters,  addressed  to  the  church  in 
"Washington,  and  to  Mr.  Handy,  will  illustrate  this 
period. 

"Savannah,  May  13th,  1828. 
"To  the  members  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church, 
Washington  City. 

"Beloved  Brethren — Affectionately  attached  to 
you  all,  it  was  my  design  to  write  to  you  at  some 
very  early  period  after  my  arrival  here;  but  my 
engagements  have  been  such  that  T  have  put  off  this 
little  work  of  love  until  this  late  hour.  You  wiU,  I 
hope,  excuse  this  apparent  neglect — my  heart  is  the 
same — it  is  not  estranged  from  you;  I  trust  it  never 
will  be  till  I  die. 

"After  labouring  in  your  midst  a  little  more  than 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  117 

six  years,  with  much  comfort  to  myself,  and,  I  hope, 
some  usefulness  to  you,  I  have  withdrawn.  I  am 
now  far  away;  another  city  is  the  place  of  my  resi- 
dence; another  people  the  people  of  my  charge. 
Was  this  of  my  own  seeking  1  It  was  the  provi- 
dence of  God — most  remarkably  the  providence  of 
God.  There  is  a  train  of  circumstances  connected 
with  the  whole  matter  truly  wonderful;  some  are 
known  to  you,  some  are  not.  Suffice  it  to  say,  about 
those  things  presumed  not  to  be  known  to  you, 
because  referring  particularly  to  the  church  here, 
that  certain  events  of  a  peculiar  character  have  con- 
vinced the  people  of  my  present  charge  that  I  was 
sent  in  answer  to  their  prayers.  I  was  happy  with 
you;  I  was  willing  with  you  to  live,  to  labour,  and 
to  die.  But,  brought  here  by  the  providence  of 
God,  I  am  also  happy  here;  and  now  I  am  willing, 
if  such  be  the  Divine  pleasure,  mth  this  people  to 
live,  to  labour,  and  to  die.  The  field  of  usefulness 
opened  to  me  in  this  place  is  very  extensive,  and 
very  promising.  My  congregation  is  decidedly  the 
largest  in  Savannah,  and  embraces  a  great  portion  of 
the  wealth  and  intelligence  of  the  city.  I  am  happy 
to  add,  it  embraces  much  piety  too,  far  more  than  I 
had  any  idea  of.  We  have  many  of  the  excellent  of 
the  earth  in  our  midst;  our  prayer-meetings  are 
crowded;  I  have  a  very  flourishing  Female  Bible- 
class — the  present  number  is  forty-six.  I  am  free 
to  say,  my  prospects  of  doing  good  were  never  more 
encouraging  than  they  now  are.  I  am  contented,  I 
am  happy ;  but  still  my  thoughts  will  recur  to  scenes 
past  and  gone.  I  remember  the  dear  people  whom 
I  left  behind;  I  remember  their  kindness;  I  remem- 


118  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF   THE 

ber  our  Christian  and  friendly  intercourse,  our  social 
and  other  meetings.  These  recollections  awaken 
peculiar  feelings — pleasant,  yet  mournful  to  the  soul. 
I  cease  not,  my  dear  brethren,  to  remember  you  in 
my  prayers;  most  sincerely  do  I  desire,  in  your 
behalf,  a  large  share  of  Heaven's  richest  and  best 
blessings. 

"I  trust  by  this  time  you  have  a  man  of  God  sent 
amongst  you — one  that  will  love  you  as  I  have  done, 
and  one  that  will  be  abundantly  more  useful  than  I 
ever  was.  Love  your  minister;  consider  him  as  the 
Lord's  messenger;  receive  his  instructions  in  meek- 
ness, his  rebukes  in  love;  pray  for  liim,  and  give 
him  good  encouragement  of  every  kind.  I  hope  you 
still  remain  united  among  yourselves;  that  you  con- 
tinue to  love  each  other,  as  you  were  wont  to  do, 
with  a  pure  heart,  fervently :  '  Behold,  how  good  and 
how  pleasant  it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell  together  in 
unity.'  Christians  are  a  peculiar  people;  they  should 
walk  in  love,  and  not,  as  other  gentiles,  which  know 
not  God.  There  are  many  tender  considerations 
which  may  well  bind  their  hearts  together.  They 
have  one  warfare,  one  banner,  one  Captain  of  salva- 
tion. They  are  all  children  of  the  same  heavenly 
King;  they  have  one  elder  brother,  one  inheritance, 
and  one  hope;  they  are  all  going  up  through  the 
same  wilderness,  refreshed  by  the  same  streams, 
leaning  upon  the  same  arm.  They  are  '  all  passing 
through  one  beauteous  gate  to  one  eternal  home.' 
Dear  brethren,  let  me  beseech  you  once  more,  as  I 
have  often  done  before,  to  walk  worthy  of  the  Lord 
unto  aU  pleasing;  to  live  blamelessly  and  harmlessly 
as  the  children  of  God,  without  rebuke.     O,  it  is  a 


REV.    DANIEL    BAKER,    D.  D.  119 

great  matter  to  be  a  consistent  and  examplary  Chris- 
tian! It  pleases  God,  brings  credit  to  religion,  and 
peace  and  comfort  to  our  own  soul.  The  time  is 
gone  by  for  me,  in  any  official  capacity,  to  press 
these  things  upon  you,  for  I  am  no  longer  your 
pastor;  but,  as  an  absent  friend  and  Christian  bro- 
ther, I  would  call  to  remembrance  the  things  which 
ye  have  heard. 

"There  are  two  things  which  now,  in  review, 
afford  me  satisfaction — a  consciousness  that  I  endea- 
voured to  be  faithfid  whilst  I  was  over  you  in  the 
Lord,  and  a  conviction  that  my  labours  in  your  midst 
were  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord.  I  know  I  came  far 
short  of  my  duty;  and  I  have  reason  to  mourn  over 
my  too  great  barrenness,  and  would  desire  now  to 
humble  myself  before  God,  and  take  shame  and  con- 
fusion of  face  unto  myself  for  all  that  was  amiss ;  yet, 
through  grace,  I  think  I  can  say,  if  I  did  not  make 
full  proof  of  my  ministry,  I  did,  in  some  measure, 
do  the  work  of  an  evangelist  amongst  you,  and  I 
thank  God,  I  have  left  behind  me  some  seals  of  my 
ministry.  O,  that  the  number  were  a  thousand 
times  greater !  My  dear  friends,  the  idea  of  meeting 
you  in  glory  is  very  delightful  to  my  soul.  Precious 
lambs  of  the  flock !  may  the  good  Shepherd  lead  you 
into  green  pastures,  and  beside  the  still  waters;  and 
what  time  you  are  feeble  and  amidst  enemies,  may 
He  gather  you  in  his  arms,  and  carry  you  in  his 
bosom.  O,  keep  near  your  blessed  Redeemer ;  follow 
him  fully  in  the  regeneration,  and  soon  you  will  be 
with  him  in  a  world  of  glory.  Shall  we  see  each 
other  no  more  in  the  flesh'?  This  is  now  quite  pro- 
bable;   but  in  our  Father's  house  there  are  many 


120  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

mansions.  There,  if  never  before — there,  I  trust  in 
God,  we  shall  meet,  salute  each  other  as  brethren 
redeemed,  and  part  no  more. 

"But  what  shade  is  that  which  comes  over  my 
soul]  What  pang  was  that  which  even  now  I  feeH 
O,  it  is  the  recollection  of  something  past — that 
some,  that  many,  and  those  of  my  young  friends, 
too,  heard  me  preach,  heard  me  invite,  heard  me 
warn,  heard  me,  even  with  tears,  entreat  them  to 
attend  to  the.  great  concern,  and  all  without  profit; 
whilst  my  soul  was  yearning  over  them,  their  hearts 
were  cased  in  adamant;  I  never  saw  them  weep  at 
the  feet  of  Jesus;  I  never  heard  them  cry,  What 
must  I  do  to  be  saved'?  My  preaching  with  them  is 
now  over;  my  warnings  are  now  ended,  my  work  is 
done;  the  volume  of  my  pastoral  labours  is  closed,  is 
sealed,  is  laid  up  by  the  throne  of  God  against  the 
judgment-day.  And  what!  O  my  soul,  must  I  bear 
witness  against  them  in  the  judgment-day]  The 
idea  is  too  distressing;  I  cannot  dwell  upon  it.  O, 
my  friend,  whoever  thou  art,  that  shall  read  this 
letter  in  the  prayer-meeting,  I  entreat  thee  tell  those, 
especially  the  young  who  have  heard  my  voice  but 
have  not  regarded  it — O,  tell  them  that  they  have 
sinned  against  much  light  and  much  love;  tell  them 
that  their  souls  are  more  precious  than  a  thousand 
worlds,  and  when  lost,  are  lost  for  ever!  God  have 
mercy  upon  them,  and  save  them  from  the  death 
that  never  dies.  I  have  done.  Beloved  brethren, 
one  and  all,  farewell. 

"Your  late  loving  pastor,  and  still  affectionate 
friend, 

Daniel  Baker." 


REY.    DANIEL    BAKEK,    D.  D.  121 

(to    MR.    HANDY.) 

"Savannah,  May  2Sth,  1829. 

"My  VERY  DEAR  Friend. — I  wrote  to  you  by  mail 
some  three  or  four  weeks  since,  but  a  fine  opportu- 
nity now  offering,  I  thought  I  would  embrace  it, 
although  I  have  very  little  to  say,  and  very  little 
time  to  say  that  very  little  in.  I  have  not  to  this 
day  ceased  regretting  the  miscarriage  of  the  long 
letter  I  wrote  to  you;  not  merely  because  it  was  a 
dead  loss,  but  because  I  think  if  it  had  reached  you, 
your  last  letter  would  have  been  both  more  bland  and 
lengthy.  Did  you  know  it '? — your  letter  had  a  drop 
or  two  of  vinegar  in  it;  but  towards  the  last  you 
diluted  it  pretty  well.  You  seem  to  have  forgotten 
my  taken-for-granted  neglect,  and  you  resumed  your 
pleasant  and  most  agreeable  mode  of  expressing 
yourself.  Now,  my  dear  good  sir,  as  the  matter  of 
neglect  is  all  cleared  up,  I  hope  you  will  favour  me 
with  some  more  of  your  'old  fashioned,'  but  much 
valued  letters.  I  greatly  desire  to  know  how  you 
are  all  coming  on;  so  many  changes  lately. 

"  We  are  about  opening  an  infant  school  in  this 
city,  under  the  most  encouraging  auspices.  To 
secure  adequate  funds  our  plan  is  this:  eighteen 
gentlemen  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  fifty 
dollars  each,  to  be  reimbursed  by  procuring  scholars 
to  that  amount ;  terms  of  tuition  to  be  ten  dollars  a 
year,  to  be  paid  semi-annually  in  advance.  We 
obtained  a  proper  person — sent  her  on  to  Philadel- 
phia to  be  trained  up  and  qualified  for  opening  an 
infant  school  in  this  city.  She  has  just  returned, 
and  appears  eminently  qualified  for  the  enterprise. 
It  is  an  experiment  in  a  southern  latitude;  much 
11 


122  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

will  depend  upon  our  success.  AVc  trust  the  bless- 
ing of  Heaven  will  be  upon  the  institution.  *  *  * 
I  am  coming  on  in  the  usual  way ;  my  health  good, 
that  of  my  family,  in  general,  good  also ;  some  little 
seriousness  among  us,  but  not  much;  expect  only  a 
few  at  our  next  communion ;  one  who  has  applied  is 
a  man  of  fine  talents,  a  lately  appointed  judge  of  the 
Superior  Court;  he  has  been  under  serious  impres- 
sions for  a  considerable  time;  was  once,  I  believe, 
something  of  a  deist,  and  about  two  years  ago 
challenged  a  man;  but  I  have  reason  to  hope  for 
better  things  of  him  now — even  things  that  accom- 
pany salvation.  Two  ladies  also,  who  have  all  their 
lives  long  moved  in  the  very  highest  circles  in  this 
city,  have  lately  given  proof  of  having  been  brought 
under  the  blessed  influences  of  the  divine  Spirit; 
they  seem  wilhng  to  give  up  the  world  and  all  for 
Christ;  God  grant  them  grace  so  to  do.  *  *  *  If 
there  be  any  thing  encouraging  with  you,  tell  me ; 
and  if  not,  tell  me.  I  feel  a  continued  and  lively 
interest  in  the  affairs  of  your  church.  Do  be  full  in 
your  communications;  enter  into  details;  any  thing 
and  every  thing  will  be  interesting  to  me.  I  should 
like  to  know  something  also  of  the  operations  of  the 
'Hickory  broom,'  (so  called);  it  sweeps  clean,  does 
if?  Has  it  looked  as  if  it  woidd  come  along  your 
wayl  I  saw  the  name  of 'Handy,'  as  one  likely  to 
be  placed  on  the  list;  were  you  the  person  meant ] 
Do  tell  me  about  my  old  friend  and  room-mate,  Mr. 
Collins;  methinks  I  see  him  full  of  alarm,  trembling 
in  every  joint.  *  *  *  Please  to  remember  me 
affectionately  to  all  my  old  friends. 
"Your  very  sincere  friend, 

Daniel  Baker." 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  123 


(to  the  same.) 

"Savannah,  12th  August,  1830. 

"  My  very  DEAR  Friend — I  feel  much  indebted  to 
you  for  your  kindness  in  writing  so  many  interesting 
letters,  and  especially  for  your  forbearance  in  not 
taking  offence  at  my  long-continued  silence.  I  know 
not  how  often  I  have  taken  up  my  pen  to  write  to 
you,  and  then  laid  it  down  again,  not  knowing 
exactly  what  to  say;  and,  indeed,  I  have  now  before 
me  a  half- written  letter  to  you,  dated  the  11th 
ultimo. 

"Yours  of  the  5th  inst.  was  received  this  morning; 
you  wish  a  prompt  reply,  and  1  must  give  it.  I  feel 
sincerely  thankful  to  my  old  and  much  esteemed 
friends  for  their  kind  remembrance  of  me,  and  for 
the  desire  which  they  have  expressed  that  I  should 
return  to  Washington,  and  resume  my  former  charge. 
I  am  more  than  thankful — my  heart  has  been  much 
affected — and  this  moment  I  have  feelings  which  I 
cannot  express.  If  it  were  clearly  the  will  of  God, 
there  would  be  no  difficulty ;  but  I  must  frankly  say, 
it  is  not — at  least,  it  does  not  appear  so  to  me  under 
existing  circumstances. 

"With  regard  to  pecuniary  matters,  you  know, 
my  dear  sir,  that  I  do  not  suffer  such  things  to  have 
much  influence  with  me;  I  think  I  proved  it,  when, 
about  nine  years  ago,  I  willingly  gave  up  (because  it 
was  my  Master's  will)  a  salary  of  $2500  here  for 
$1400  in  Washington.  My  opinion  decidedly  is, 
that  those  who  preach  the  gospel  should  live  of  the 
gospel,  but   should   not  be  enriched   by  it;  and  I 


124:  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

think  I  can  adopt  the  sentiment  embraced  in  those 
oft  repeated  lines, 

'Man  wants  but  little  here  below, 
Nor  wants  that  little  long.' 

Indeed,  to  teU  you  the  truth,  you  were  not  far  from 
the  mark  when  you  supposed  that  large  and  small 
salaries  were  much  the  same  with  me.  It  is  singu- 
lar, but  so  it  is.  My  income  at  different  periods  has 
varied  as  follows,  $600,  $1100,  $1400,  $800,  $2200; 
and  yet  at  no  time  have  I  been  flush,  nor  at  any 
time  have  I  starved.  Nor  is  this  a  new  case;  for 
we  are  told  that  when  God  rained  manna  upon  the 
camp  of  Israel,  he  that  gathered  much  had  nothing 
over,  and  he  that  gathered  little  had  no  lack.  The 
matter  of  salary,  therefore,  is  by  no  means  the  prin- 
cipal thing.  *  *  *  I  feel  a  great  interest  in  the 
continued  harmony  and  prosperity  of  your  church, 
once  called  mine;  and  rest  assured,  my  dear  friend, 
I  shall  not  cease  to  pray  that  the  God  of  heaven  may 
have  you  all  in  his  holy  keeping,  and  may  send  you, 
and  that  speedily,  a  man  that  shall  unite  your 
church  and  be  a  blessing  to  you  all. 

"You  have  heard,  it  seems,  that  I  have  left 
Savannah.  This  is  a  mistake;  I  am  still  here,  and 
am  sincerely  attached  to  the  people  of  my  charge. 
As  a  church  and  congregation  they  have  been  very 
kind  to  me.  The  call  was  not  entirely  unanimous; 
and  this,  with  some  of  its  consequences,  has  made 
me  more  inclined  than  ever  to  adopt  the  resolution 
already  mentioned,  to  accept  of  no  call  henceforward 
that  is  not  unanimous.  And  now  I  am  free  to  say, 
my  present  purpose  is,  if  I  do  not  succeed  in  uniting 


REV.  DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  125 

the  church  of  which  I  am  now  pastor,  I  will,  if  the 
Master  grant  permission,  become  a  missionary,  and, 
after  a  reasonable  time,  make  my  final  settlement  in 
some  obscure  village  in  the  West,  where  I  may  have, 
what  I  have  long  desired,  a  church  perfectly  united; 
where  I  may  be  as  a  father  in  the  midst  of  his 
children:  for  'better  is  a  dinner  of  herbs  where  love 
is,  than  a  stalled  ox  and  hatred  therewith.'  We  have 
had  a  season  of  great  spiritual  deadness  among  us  for 
some  time  past ;  but  at  length  the  prospects,  I  think, 
are  beginning  to  brighten  a  little.  For  about  five 
weeks  past  I  have  been  preaching  almost  exclusively 
to  professors.  I  have  had  my  spirit  strongly  stirred 
within  me,  and  completely  delivered,  as  I  hope,  from 
a  man-fearing  spirit.  I  have  spoken  the  words  of 
truth  and  soberness  with  all  boldness;  and  the  Lord 
has  evidently  carried  it  home  to  the  hearts  of  many, 
although  I  have  been  most  unsparing.  I  find  the 
elders,  and  many  of  the  members,  are  getting  much 
of  a  tender,  self-condemning  spirit,  and  their  lan- 
guage seems  to  be  that  of  the  Psalmist,  'Let  the 
righteous  smite  me — it  shall  be  a  kindness ;  and  let 
him  reprove  me — it  shall  be  an  excellent  oil  that 
shall  not  break  my  head;  for  yet  shall  my  prayer 
also  be  in  his  calamity.'  There  is  no  use  in  denying 
it,  after  all,  there  is  something  very  beautiful  in  the 
Christian  spirit.  The  Christian  may  be  chafed  for  a 
time,  but  by-and-by  grace  gets  the  victory,  and  all  is 
calm  and  sweet  again.  Let  my  lot  be  with  the 
child  of  God. 

"  Last  Tuesday  evening  we  had  a  meeting  exclu- 
sively for   communicants;  it   was   a   precious  time. 
The  excommunication  of  an  unworthy  member  was 
11* 


126  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF    THE 

pronounced;  tliis  added  mucli  to  the  solemnity  of 
the  occasion.  The  evening  after,  we  had  our  usual 
lecture;  the  room  was  unusually  full;  and  such 
were  the  appearances,  that  one  of  the  elders  said 
he  thought,  if  anxious  persons  had  been  requested 
to  do  so,  many  would  have  kneeled  down  at  their 
seats,  to  be  prayed  for.  Yesterday  I  learned,  to  my 
very  agreeable  surprise,  that  about  four  weeks  ago, 
several  of  the  members,  with  two  of  the  elders, 
united  in  observing  a  day  of  fasting,  to  pray  for  a 
blessing  upon  my  labours.  I  have  made  an  appoint- 
ment for  an  anxious-meeting,  to  be  held  to-morrow 
afternoon.  Whether  any  will  attend,  I  cannot  say; 
I  bless  the  Lord,  however,  for  any  thing  encouraging. 
Should  sinners  be  converted,  and  certain  individuals 
be  softened  down,  I  suspect,  after  all,  my  dusty  bed 
mil  be  laid  in  the  same  city  of  silence  where  sleeps 
the  lamented  Kollock. 

"  Please  to  remember  me  affectionately  to  all  my 
friends  in  Washington,  especially  the  communicants. 
Tell  them  I  love  them  still;  have  not  forgotten  our 
prayer-meetings  and  sacramental  seasons;  and  hope 
that  if  I  never  see  their  faces  in  the  flesh  any  more, 
we  may  greet  each  other  in  glory,  even  in  that  happy 
world  '  where  saints  immortal  reign.' 

"Your  much  obliged  and  very  sincere  friend, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  the  same.) 

"Satannaii,  Sept.  30th,  1829. 

"My  very  dear  Friend — Your  last  long  and  very 
interesting  letter  has  been  lying  by  me,  unanswered, 
for  some  time.     You  are  not  to  think  strangely  of 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  1 27 

this,  for  I  have  had  occasion  to  write  so  many  letters 
of  introduction  to  you,  that  I  thought  they  might 
answer  very  well  as  a  substitute;  especially  as  my 
manner  has  been  to  slip  in  something  besides  the 
introductory  paragraph.  I  hope  by  this  time  you 
have  seen  some  of  my  Savannah  friends,  particularly 
Mr.  S.  and  Mr.  C.  *  *  *  I  am  anxious  to  hear  some- 
thing about  my  room-mate,  Mr.  C;  you  knoAV  he 
was  a  decided  Adams  man.  Is  he  still  permitted  to 
drive  the  quill  in  the  service  of  Uncle  Sam,  or  nof? 
I  think  you  must  have  a  very  gloomy  time  in  Wash- 
ington, so  many  excellent  persons  thrown  out  of  em- 
ployment. Are  these  almost  innumerable  removals 
right '?  These  appointments  of  senators  and  editors, 
are  they  right '?  If  you  'shut  the  door  when  you 
begin  to  think,'  you  may  be  afraid  to  trust  anything 
to  the  post-office  department;  but  what  comes  to 
me  shaU,  if  you  desire  it,  be  kept  as  close  as  the 
grave. 

"I  have  been  tempted  to  publish  some  of  your 
amusing  remarks,  but  I  thought  perhaps  I  had  better 
not.  I  would  not,  for  a  pretty  thing,  have  your  name 
on  the  list  of  the  proscribed.  Does  Mr.  M.  (chief 
clerk.  Land-office)  stand  fast  and  firm'?  Do  write 
me  another  long  letter,  and  let  at  least  one  page  be 
devoted  to  the  subject  of  'Removals,  Washington 
table-talk,'  &c.  You  may  well  suppose  I  take  a 
deep  interest  in  such  things,  for  they  concern  many 
that  are  well  known  and  much  esteemed  by  me.  As 
for  church  matters  in  Washington,  this,  you  know, 
is  a  standing  subject;  I  shall  consider  no  letter  a 
finished  one  which  has  not  something  or  other  about 
it.     May  the  Lord  prosper  all  of  your  churches,  and 


128  LIFE  AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

add  daily  unto  them  of  such  as  shall  be  saved.  Mr. 
G.  requested  me  some  time  ago  to  do  something  for 
the  Fourth  Church,  in  Savannah;  I  made  no  attempt, 
for  I  knew  it  would  be  in  vain,  but  subscribed  myself 
twenty  dollars. 

"You  have  an  Infant  School,  I  find.  Does  it 
flourish'?  We  have  one  also  in  Savannah — not  for 
the  poor,  but  for  the  rich.  By  this  I  mean,  it  is  not 
a  charity  school,  but  designed  for  those  who  can 
afford  to  pay  ten  dollars  a  year,  payable  semi- 
annually, in  advance.  It  met  with  strong  opposition 
at  first,  but  is  now  one  of  the  most  popular  institu- 
tions of  the  city.  We  expect  to  open  another  before 
spring,  for  the  poorer  classes.  I  think  these  infant 
schools  are  grand  things — will  do  much  good. 

"Savannah  has  been  most  remarkably  healthy 
ever  since  my  arrival.  This  is  called  the  sickly  sea- 
son, but  doctors  (as  the  saying  is)  are  starving.  A 
great  many  of  our  rich  folks,  as  usual,  went  off  in 
pursuit  of  health.  They  would,  in  all  probability, 
have  done  much  better  to  have  remained  at  home. 
This  going  to  the  north  every  summer  is  a  sad  thing 
for  Savannah;  it  makes  the  city  so  dull.  Besides,  it 
tends  to  impoverish  the  city,  draining  it  of  about 
half  a  million  of  dollars  annually.  My  congrega- 
tion, at  present,  is  comparatively  small — about  four 
hundred  hearers;  in  the  winter  we  have  something 
like  seven  or  eight  hundred.  Our  evening  meetings, 
held  in  our  Sabbath-school  room,  have  for  a  time 
been  crowded  and  solemn.  Some  are  under  awaken- 
ings, but  not  many.  We  occasionally  have  inquiry- 
meetings,  at  which  we  have  had  ten  or  twelve  pre- 
sent.    We  much  need  a  season  of  refreshing.     How 


EEV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  129 

much  pleased  should  I  be  to  have  you  pay  us  a  visit; 
a  Httle  jaunt  of  this  kind  might  be  for  your  health. 
I  would  introduce  you  to  a  goodly  number  of  the 
excellent  of  the  earth,  for  I  think  we  have  as  good 
Christians  here  as  you  would  find  in  any  part  of  the 
world. 

"  Yours,  very  sincerely, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  the  same.) 

"Savannah,  Oct.  SOth,  1830. 

"My  dear  Friend — ^I  wrote  yesterday,  and  now 
write  again  to-day.  This  is  strange,  is  it  nof?  I 
will  tell  you  my  business  in  few  words.  In  youi 
last  letter  you  mentioned  that  your  health  was  not 
good ;  immediately  it  occurred  to  me  that  this  would 
be  a  good  time  to  insist  upon  your  paying  me  a  visit 
this  faU.  or  winter.  And  now,  my  dear  sir,  you  re- 
collect that  you  had  half  a  mind  to  visit  this  seat  of 
health  last  winter — only  get  another  half,  and  you 
will  have  a  whole  one  this  season;  and  that,  you 
know,  is  all  that  is  required.  So  it  appears  very 
feasible,  indeed.  How  pleased  would  Mrs.  B.  and 
myself  be  to  see  you,  and  entertain  you  in  our  own 
house.  I  promise  you  a  hearty  welcome,  and  your 
lady  too.  I  am  almost  sure  it  would  be  a  great 
thing  for  the  health  of  you  both.  Besides,  don't  you 
wish  to  see  Savannah]  and  don't  you  wish  to  see 
your  old  friend  once  morel  and  see  his  church 
too — and  his  people  1  Well,  if  you  come,  you  may 
see  them  all;  and  some  of  them  are  worth  seeing, 
I  tell  you.  The  church — the  building,  I  mean — 
is  perhaps  not  surpassed  in  elegance  and  grandeur 


130  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

by  any  in  these  United  States;  and,  indeed,  it  ought 
to  be  something,  for  it  cost,  as  I  believe  I  have 
already  told  you,  about  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  dollars — a  good  round  sum,  truly.  It  was 
reared,  I  am  told,  with  some  reference  to  millennial 
times,  and  I  myself  have  no  doubt  but  in  that  very 
building  the  thrilling  sound  will  be  heard,  'The 
kingdoms  of  this  world  are  become  the  kingdoms 
of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ;'  whilst,  at  the  same 
time,  great  voices  shall  be  heard  in  heaven,  saying, 
'Behold,  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,  and 
He  will  dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall  be  His 
people,  and  God  himself  shall  be  with  them,  and  be 
their  God.'  O,  glorious  scenes  of  a  coming  day! 
O,  sweet  bursting  visions  of  millennial  bHss!  E,oll 
on!  The  heralds  of  the  cross,  looking  forward  with 
joyous  anticipations,  cry,  Roll  on!  The  sacramental 
host  of  God's  elect,  listening  with  intense  eagerness 
to  hear  the  sounding  of  the  chariot  wheels  of  the 
great  Captain  of  Salvation,  cry,  Koll  on!  The  souls 
under  the  altar,  too,  of  them  that  have  been  slain 
for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  testimony  which 
they  held,  methinks  are  ready  to  swell  the  cry,  and 
even  in  glory  shout — Roll  on!  But  whither  am  I 
carried.  Excuse  tliis  rhapsody.  The  theme  is  so 
pleasant,  the  bare  mention  of  it  is  enough  to  kindle 
the  heart  into  rapture. 

"  But  my  time  is  short  again,  and  I  must  wind  up 
this  letter,  which  I  intended  to  be  a  short  one — a 
little  7iota  bene,  as  it  were — yet  I  must  not  abso- 
lutely put  a  period  to  it  until  I  have  mentioned  one 
thing  more.  *  *  *  *  O^  when  will  men  learn  to 
preach  the  gospel  in  all  its  sweet  simplicity!     When 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  131 

will  they  consent  to  give  up  their  unscriptural  and 
bewildering  metaphysical  subtleties,  or  when  will 
they  cease  to  'dote  about  questions  and  strifes  of 
words,'  whereof  cometh  envy,  strife,  railings,  evil 
surmisings,  perverse  disputings  of  men  of  corrupt 
minds  and  destitute  of  the  truth.  Some  persons 
have  a  most  wonderful  disposition  to  wish  to  appear 
deep  and  great — ^but,  stop ! — I  must  bring  a  railing 
accusation  against  no  man,  lest  I  deservedly  incur 
the  reproach  of  those  who  are  'fierce  for  moderation;' 
or,  what  is  worse  still,  the  displeasure  of  Him  who 
has  said, '  Judge  not,  that  ye  be  not  judged.'  I  leave 
them  with  Him  whose  province  it  is  to  search  the 
hearts.  To  their  own  Master  they  must  stand  or 
fall. — Well,  did  you  ever  see  the  like;  it  seems  I 
will  give  you  a  long  letter  in  spite  of  aU  resolutions. 
My  pen  seems  strongly  inclined  to  course  it  over 
this  remaining  beautiful  white  space,  but  I  am  deter- 
mined to  hold  it  in  check;  so  with  cordial  and  affec- 
tionate salutations  for  Mr.  M's  family  and  your  own, 
I  bid  you  farewell. 

Yours,  as  ever, 

Daniel  Baker." 

"I  promised  that  my  pen  should  have  no  more 
liberties  in  the  little  area  on  the  other  side ;  but  you 
see  how  it  has  leaped  the  fence,  and  got  upon  this 
side.  Only  one  word  more:  Savannah  is  quite 
healthy,  and  you  may  come  as  soon  as  you  please. 
My  situation  here  is  very  pleasant  in  many  respects. 
One  elder  tells  me  that  I  have  gained  upon  the 
people;  another  elder  says  that  for  the  last  five 
months  I  have  preached  better   than   I   ever   did 


132  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

before,  and,  adds  he,  your  people  think  so  too;  but 
the  best  of  it  is,  my  labours  have  been  very  encour- 
agingly blessed." 

Narrative  resumed. 

Amid  hghts  and  shadows,  joys  and  sorrows,  hope 
and  fear,  I  laboured  on,  without  much  apparent 
success,  until  the  10th  of  August,  1830,  when,  not 
satisfied  either  with  myself  or  the  state  of  things  in 
the  church,  I  took  PaysorCs  Memoirs  in  my  hand, 
and  going  out  early  that  morning,  I  spent  nearly 
the  whole  day  in  a  distant  graveyard,  engaged  in 
reading,  and  fasting,  and  prayer.  That  day  marks 
a  memorable  era  in  the  history  of  my  life.  Return- 
ing to  my  dwelling  that  evening,  about  the  setting 
of  the  sun,  I  resolved,  by  the  grace  of  God,  to  turn 
over  a  new  leaf,  and  in  preaching  and  pastoral 
visitations  to  be  more  faithful  and  diligent  than  I 
had  ever  been. 

We  copy  from  his  journal  at  this  time. 

Savannah^  Tuesday^  August  lO^A,  1830.  Have 
been  reading  the  memoirs  of  Dr.  Payson,  late  of 
Portland,  Maine;  found  the  account  given  of  his 
piety  and  zeal,  through  grace,  quickening  to  my 
soul.  O,  what  a  dead  state  have  I  been  in  for  a 
length  of  time,  and  how  unblessed  my  labours !  I 
know  not  that  a  single  individual  has  been  awakened 
under  my  preaching  for  six  months  past.  It  will 
not  do  to  live  on  at  this  poor  dying  rate.  Lord, 
revive  me,  all  my  help  must  come  from  thee !  As 
we  are  to  have  a  communicants'  meeting  this  even- 
ing, I  determined  to  set  apart  this  as  a  day  of 
fasting,  humiliation,   and   prayer — a  day  of  special 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  133 

devotion.  Had  my  heart  somewhat  drawn  out  in 
my  morning  devotions;  afterwards  took  with  me 
the  Life  of  Payson,  and  thought  that  I  would  retire 
into  the  woods  that  I  might  enjoy  more  perfect 
retirement;  thought  the  burial  groimd  for  the  col- 
oured people  would  be  a  good  place;  went  in  and 
found  a  brick  tomb  under  a  shade ;  every  thing  very 
favourable  for  religious  reading  and  meditation. 
After  prayer,  commenced  reading;  whilst  I  read  and 
mused  the  fire  burned;  my  heart  was  greatly  en- 
larged; the  place  proved  a  Bethel,  indeed;  I  know 
not  when  I  ever  had  my  feelings  more  wrought 
upon;  compared  myself  with  Payson,  and  was  deeply 
humbled  in  the  comparison;  longed  to  follow  him 
even  as  he  followed  Christ.  Finding  in  his  Hfe  an 
account  of  a  prayer-meeting  for  the  special  purpose 
of  praying  for  those  for  whom  prayer  might  be 
specially  desired,  was  much  pleased  with  the  idea, 
and  immediately  concluded  to  have  one  of  the  same 
kind.  In  the  evening  the  communicants'  meeting 
was  well  attended,  and  very  solemn;  many  tears 
were  shed ;  proposed  that  we  should  have  a  day  of 
fasting  some  time  before  our  next  communion. 

August  15th,  Sabbath.  This  day  had  something 
of  the  spirit  of  devotion;  had  liberty  in  praying  for 
assistance  and  a  blessing  in  preaching;  preached  in 
the  morning  from  Ez.  iii.  17 — 19;  had  more  liberty 
than  I  have  had  for  a  long  time;  wept  myself,  and 
had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  others  weep.  In  the 
afternoon  preached  from  Isa.  Iv.  12,  13;  at  night  had 
a  solemn  meeting  in  the  Sabbath-schoolroom;  gave 
notice  then  that  there  would  be  a  special  prayer* 
meeting  on  Tuesday  evening  next ;  and  after  stating 
12 


184  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

the  special  object,  inyited  all  wlio  felt  disposed,  to 
send  in  notes ;  told  them  that  a  box  would  be  placed 
on  the  table,  and  the  room  opened  on  Monday  even- 
ing to  receive  the  notes  which  might  be  sent  in. 

August  11th.  Had  a  great  many  at  the  meeting; 
forty-six  notes  were  sent  in  and  read;  some  were 
from  parents,  entreating  that  prayers  might  be  made 
for  their  dear  unconverted  children,  and  some  from 
members  praying  for  the  conversion  of  their  brothers 
and  sisters ;  one  was  from  a  husband  who  longed  for 
the  conversion  of  his  wife;  and  one  from  "A  sinner 
who  desires  the  prayers  of  God's  people  for  the 
conversion  of  his  soul;"  another  was  from  a  sinful 
and  unconverted  wife,  who  requests  that  the  people 
of  God  would  pray  for  the  conversion  of  herself  and 
husband.  Some  were  from  professors  who  seemed  to 
fear  that  they  were  not  on  a  good  foundation,  and 
some  from  members  who  felt  that  they  were  in  a 
cold,  dead  state,  and  longed  for  quickening  influences. 
I  put  in  a  note  myself,  requesting  the  prayers  of  my 
people  for  me ;  that  the  Lord  would  give  me  a  more 
intense  love  for  souls;  would  give  signal  success  to 
my  labours,  and  would  cause  me  to  have  a  richer  and 
sweeter  experience  of  the  grace  of  God  in  my  own 
heart.  The  meeting  was  a  delightful  one,  and  one 
long  to  be  remembered.  At  a  little  inquiry-meeting, 
which  I  attended  in  the  afternoon,  four  were  present; 
two  professed  to  have  obtained  a  hope,  the  other  two 
were  evidently  under  very  serious  impressions.  One 
of  the  two  who  obtained  a  hope,  told  me  that  she 
was  so  much  exercised  under  my  sermon,  last  Sab- 
bath morning,  that  on  going  home  she  resolved 
that  she  would  neither  eat  nor  sleep  until  she  had 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  135 

obtained  rest  to  her  soul.  Accordingly,  before  the 
time  for  the  commencement  of  the  afternoon  service, 
she  obtained  a  hope,  and  was  enabled  to  rejoice  in 
the  God  of  her  salvation. 

August  l^th.  Visited  a  number  of  families;  found 
the  members  in  general  very  tender.  All  spoke  in 
high  terms  of  the  meeting  last  evening ;  one  said  she 
was  so  happy  after  she  got  home,  that  she  did  not 
retire  to  rest  until  very  late  at  night;  another  said 
she  did  not  go  to  sleep  until  near  daybreak,  she  had 
not  felt  so  much  for  a  long  time.  Blessed  be  God,  if 
any  mercy  drops  have  fallen  upon  any  soul.  Lord, 
revive  us!     All  our  help  must  come  from  thee. 

We  resume  the  course  of  the  narrative. 

About  this  time,  having  a  case  of  discipline  to  be 
communicated  to  the  church,  I  appointed  a  meeting 
to  be  held  in  the  lecture-room  on  the  morning  of  a 
day  which,  I  think,  had  been  appointed  by  the 
Session  as  a  day  of  fasting,  humiliation,  and  prayer. 
This  meeting  was  appointed  exclusively  for  the  mem- 
bers of  the  church.  It  proved  to  be  one  of  deep 
solemnity.  A  lady,  who  moved  in  the  first  circle  of 
society,  was  so  much  wrought  upon  that  she  wept 
aloud.  When  this  was  known,  it  became  the  sub- 
ject of  much  conversation,  and  excited  great  interest. 
Calling  to  see  a  lady  of  some  note,  who  was  very 
lively  and  pleasant  in  her  manners,  but  no  Chris- 
tian, she  affected  to  be  quite  angry  with  me  for  the 
partiality  which  I  had  shown  to  my  "  dear  members," 
as  she  called  them.  "You  think  a  great  deal  of 
your  dear  members,"  said  she,  "  but  you  don't  care 
any  thing  for  us  poor  sinners."  "  O,  madam,"  replied 
I,  "how  you  talk;  I  do  care  for  you  too."     "No," 


136  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

said  she,  "  there  you  had  your  meeting  for  your  dear 
members,  and  you  shut  us  poor  sinners  out;  you 
don't  care  any  thing  at  all  about  us."  "O  yes, 
madam,  I  do;  and  to  prove  it,  suppose  we  have  a 
meeting  for  those  who  are  not  members,  and  shut 
out  all  my  'dear  members,'  will  you  come?'  "That 
I  will,"  replied  she.  "Well,  madam,"  I  rejoined, 
"it  is  fixed."  Perhaps  the  very  next  Sabbath, 
making  a  statement  of  some  interest,  I  made  the 
appointment,  and  respectfully  invited  all  who  had 
the  candour  to  admit  that  they  were  not  converted, 
to  be  present,  and  none  but  such.  Having,  as  well 
as  I  can  now  recollect,  spent  the  day  in  fasting  and 
prayer,  I  went  to  the  lecture-room  at  the  time 
appointed,  and  the  room  was  crowded.  What  an 
opportunity,  and  how  great  the  vantage-ground 
which  I  occupied!  From  the  Scriptures  I  pointed 
out  the  necessity  of  a  sound  conversion.  It  was 
a  solemn  time,  a  melting  time.  Many  were  much 
wrought  upon — six  or  eight,  at  least — who  shortly 
after  gave  good  evidence  of  a  real  change  of  heart; 
amongst  others,  the  very  lady  with  whom  I  had  con- 
versed. 

About  this  time  Mr.  Baker  thus  writes  to  Mr. 
Handy. 

♦'Sayaxnah,  March  16th,  1831. 

"  My  very  dear  Friend — I  am  perfectly  astonish- 
ed at  your  long  silence.  Only  think  how  long  it  has 
been!  What  is  the  matter^  Have  you  been  sick 
all  this  timel  or,  has  the  image  of  Daniel  Baker 
never  passed  before  your  mind  since  January  lasf? 
Well,  if  you  forget  me,  I  am  determined  that  I  will 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  137 

not  forget  you — I  cannot  do  it,  for  with  me  friend- 
ship is  a  very  precious  thing;  and,  besides,  you  have 
been  too  kind  to  me  for  me  ever  to  cease  remember- 
ing you  with  sincere  affection. 

"I  suppose  you  would  like  to  know  how  we  are 
coming  on  here.  Pretty  much  in  the  old  way.  The 
temporalities  of  the  church  are  in  a  prosperous  state ; 
and  during  the  last  year  twenty  or  thirty  souls  have, 
as  I  trust,  passed  out  of  darkness  into  marvellous 
light.  At  this  time  there  is  no  special  excitement, 
at  least  nothing  very  great.  There  are  a  few  anxious 
inquirers,  and  I  think  Christians  are  somewhat 
moved;  but  really  it  seems  a  very  hard  thing  for  reli- 
gion to  flourish  here.  I  think  I  can  truly  say,  that  I 
never  laboured  more  faithfully  in  my  life  than  I  have 
done  since  I  came  to  Savannah;  and  yet  my  labours 
have  not  been  very  much  blessed.  I  desire,  how- 
ever, to  be  sincerely  thankful  that  my  labours  have 
not  been  altogether  in  vain  in  the  Lord.  We  are 
at  this  time  seriously  thinking  of  the  propriety  of 
having  a  four  days'  meeting  in  my  church.  It 
will  certainly  be  a  new  thing  here;  and  some 
may  think  it  carrying  the  matter  rather  too  far; 
but  I  hope  we  shall  have  it,  nevertheless,  and 
what  is  more,  I  do  hope  that  God  will  abundantly 
bless  it.  Why  do  you  not  have  one  in  your  city'? 
Only  think  of  what  is  going  on  in  New  York; 
and  you  know  how  the  work  originated.  I  do 
think  that  Washington  is  the  very  place  for  such  a 
meeting ;  and  right  glad  would  I  be  to  hear  that  you 
had  appointed  one.  If  we  succeed  in  having  one  in 
Savannah,  I  think  it  would  be  about  the  middle  or 
last  of  April  next.  Cannot  you  be  with  us]  Con- 
12* 


138  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

gress  has  adjourned,  and  I  know  that  you  have  been 
kept  very  busy.  Come  to  Savannah,  and  stretch 
your  limbs  a  little,  and  breathe  a  little  fresh  air. 
The  beauties  of  spring  are  now  opening  upon  us, 
and  every  thing  is  getting  bland  and  pleasant. 

Daniel  Baker." 

Autobiography  continued. 

At  this  time  my  preaching  became  so  plain  and 
pointed  that  some  persons  took  offence.  One  elder 
remarked,  that  certain  things  which  I  had  said  from 
this  text,  "Gray  hairs  are  here  and  there,  and  he 
knoweth  it  not,"  were  unwarrantable;  and  another 
elder  said  to  my  face,  "Mr.  Baker,  if  you  continue 
to  preach  in  this  way,  none  of  the  young  people  will 
join  our  church."  "I  do  not  wish  them  to  join," 
said  I,  "unless  they  are  converted."  "But,"  said  he, 
"the  pew-holders  will  give  up  their  pews."  "My 
mind  is  made  up,"  said  I,  "  and  if  my  preaching  is 
not  liked,  I  am  willing  to  retire  and  give  place  to 
another."  A  few  weeks  after,  endeavouring  to  pave 
the  way,  I  proposed  to  the  Session  that  we  should 
hold  a  four  days'  meeting.  There  were  five  elders 
present ;  three  were  in  favour ;  two  did  not  relish  the 
matter  much,  but  were  willing  that  the  pastor  and 
the  other  elders  should  do  as  they  pleased.  There 
was  yet  another  elder,  and  he  a  man  of  very  high 
standing,  who,  aware  of  the  business  that  would  be 
brought  before  the  Session,  would  not  be  present, 
but  sent  in  a  written  protest.  Although  I  had  a 
majority  of  the  Session  with  me,  and  moreover,  knew 
that  I  had  a  great  majority  of  the  church  on  my  side, 
I   stated   to  the   members  of  Session  present,  that 


REV.  DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  139 

as  perfect  unanimity  was  exceedingly  desirable,  I 
thought  it  would  be  best  to  postpone  the  considera- 
tion of  the  matter  for  a  season;  perhaps  the  res- 
pected elder  who  had  sent  in  his  protest  might  with- 
draw it.  Accordingly,  the  very  next  day,  the  elder, 
conquered  by  the  respect  which  had  been  shown  to 
him,  wrote  me  another  note,  withdrawing  his  pro- 
test and  yielding  all  opposition  to  the  contemplated 
movement. 

The  way  was  now  open,  and  we  must  get  the  very 
best  preachers,  and  as  many  as  possible.  The  church 
was  a  splendid  one,  the  congregation  large,  and  every 
thing  must  be  done  on  a  grand  scale.  Accordingly, 
at  a  meeting  of  the  Session,  we  fixed  upon  the  names 
of  fourteen  ministers  I  But  there  was  one  much 
more  desired  than  all  others,  the  Ilev.  Mr.  Joyce, 
a  great  favourite  with  the  people  of  the  "better 
sort;"  but  where  he  was  we  knew  not.  The  elders, 
to  a  man,  would,  I  suppose,  have  been  willing  to 
have  brought  him  all  the  way  from  New  York,  or 
Liverpool,  and  paid  his  passage.  I  wrote  the  letters 
of  invitation,  as  directed,  and  endeavoured  to  wake 
up  a  spirit  of  prayer  and  expectation.  When  the 
time  fixed  for  the  meeting  drew  near,  I  began  to  re- 
ceive replies,  one  after  another  in  this  strain,  "Dear 
brother  Baker,  I  would  be  glad  to  comply  with  your 
invitation,  but" — O,  this  hut^  this  oft-repeated  but, 
it  was  a  tremendous  blow  to  my  feelings;  it  pros- 
trated all  my  hopes;  for  I  had  such  a  poor  under- 
standing of  things  at  that  time,  that  I  thought  a 
great  array  of  ministers  was  absolutely  necessary  to 
success ;  and  a  failure  would  to  me  have  been  worse 
than  death,  for  I  knew  that  many  would  rejoice  in 


140  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

it.  I  had  a  dream  that  encouraged  me,  but  only 
whilst  the  dream  lasted.  I  dreamed  that  Dr.  W. 
McDowell,  who  was  very  popular  in  Savannah,  had 
promised  to  come ;  but  I  awoke,  and,  behold,  it  was 
only  a  dream!  That  morning — I  remember  it  well 
— it  was  raining  hard,  and  my  spirits  were  much  de- 
pressed; the  time  was  near  at  hand,  and  only  two  or 
three  ministers  had  promised  to  come.  I  did  not 
wish  to  live  any  longer !  I  wanted  to  die ! — and  I 
was  ready  to  say  with  Elijah,  in  the  wilderness, 
when  fleeing  from  the  face  of  Jezebel,  "  It  is  enough ; 
now,  O  Lord!  take  away  my  life,  for  I  am  not  better 
than  my  fathers." 

Whilst  I  was  thus  depressed,  beyond  measure,  and 
bowed  down,  who  should  come  into  my  study,  in  the 
midst  of  the  rain,  dripping  wet,  but  Mr.  C,  one  of 
my  most  valued  elders.  With  a  smiling  counte- 
nance, he  said,  "Did  you  know  that  Mr.  Joyce  is  in 
townr'  "What!"  replied  I,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Joycer' 
"The  same — the  very  same!"  I  was  electrified.  In 
a  moment,  so  to  speak,  I  rose  from  the  "  cellar  to  the 
attic."  "Brother  Joyce  come!"  exclaimed  I,  "surely 
the  Lord  is  on  our  side ;  I  don't  care  now  if  no  other 
minister  comes !"  Getting  my  hat  and  umbrella  in 
a  hurry,  I  hastened  through  the  rain  to  the  lodgings 
of  this  beloved  man;  and  most  cordially  did  I  greet 
him;  and  how  greatly  was  I  rejoiced  to  hear  him 
say  that  he  had  just  come  from  attending  a  pro- 
tracted meeting  in  the  city  of  New  York,  which  had 
been  greatly  blessed;  and  when  told  that  we  had 
appointed  a  protracted  meeting  to  be  held  in  our 
church,  to  commence  within  a  few  days,  he  expressed 
great  pleasure  in  hearing  it.     I  put  that  day  down 


KEY.    DANIEL  BAKER,   D.  D.  141 

019  the  list  of  the  happiest  days  of  my  life.  I  said, 
"Surely  the  Lord  is  with  us,  and  our  meeting  will 
be  blessed."  This  proved  true,  every  word  true, 
gloriously  true. 

The  meeting  commenced.  We  had  prayer-meet- 
ing in  the  morning  at  sun-rise,  and  preaching  in  the 
church  three  times  a  day.  At  the  expiration  of  the 
fourth  day,  besides  many  more  under  serious  impres- 
sions, there  were  perhaps  twenty  persons  who  pro- 
fessed conversion.  The  meeting  was  continued  one 
day  longer,  and  as  the  interest  continued,  we  con- 
tinued our  religious  exercises,  in  various  forms  and 
ways,  for  a  considerable  length  of  time;  our  prin- 
cipal extra  meetings  being  what  was  called  "neigh- 
bourhood meetings,"  which  were  usually  held  in  the 
afternoon,  in  private  houses,  once  or  twice  every 
week  for  some  months.  In  conducting  these  and  the 
ordinary  prayer-meetings,  Mr.  C.  H.,  a  very  interest- 
ing young  man,  and  a  candidate  for  the  sacred  office, 
rendered  me  much  important  aid.  This  religious 
interest  continued,  without  much  abatement,  for 
about  one  year,  during  which  period  one  hundred 
persons  were  added  to  the  communion  of  my  church, 
and  the  blessed  work  of  grace  extended  to  other 
churches ;  the  whole  number  brought  in,  if  I  mistake 
not,  was  about  two  hundred  and  fifty.  Behold,  how 
great  a  matter  a  little  fire  kindle th!  This  was  not 
an  April  shower;  it  was  "a  whole  day's  set  rain!" 
A  great  many  persons  of  the  first  respectability  were 
were  brought  in;  amongst  others.  Judge  L.,  who  not 
long  after  was  made  a  ruling  elder;  and  Miss  C.  E., 
who  subsequently  perished  in  the  Pulaski,  as  did 
also  some  twelve  or  fourteen  others  of  my  former 


14:2  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

charge,  including  Dr.  C,  the  elder  who  had  sent  in 
his  "  protest,''  and  his  lady." 

(letter    to    MR.    HANDY.) 

«  Savankah,  June  6th,  1831. 

"My  dear  Friend — I  forget  whether  I  informed 
you  of  our  four-days'  meeting.  It  was  a  blessed 
season.  Its  influence  upon  the  church  was  truly 
happy.  There  was  a  waking  up  of  the  members, 
such  as  I  suspect  was  never  known  here  before.  But 
this  is  not  all:  I  think  something  like  forty  or  fifty 
persons  were  awakened.  Yesterday  we  had  twenty 
added  to  our  church  on  examination ;  and  there  were 
four  or  five  others  who  applied,  but  were  put  off. 
Besides  these,  there  are  several  others  asking  what 
they  must  do  be  saved;  and  I  must  not  forget  to 
mention  that  our  sister  churches  have  gathered  in 
some  of  the  fruits  of  the  meeting  also.  But  all  this, 
it  seems,  is  not  to  be  compared  with  the  result  of 
similar  meetings  held  recently  in  your  city.  How 
pleasing  to  me  was  the  intelligence  which  you  com- 
municated. It  was,  indeed,  like  cold  water  to  a 
thirsty  soul;  but  there  was  one  sad  drawback,  the 
Second  Church,  it  seems,  had  but  little  part  or  lot  in 
the  matter.  There  is  to  be  another  four-days'  meet- 
ing, and  you  wish  me  to  be  present.  Most  certainly 
a  visit,  and  especially  on  such  an  occasion,  would 
give  me  much  pleasure;  but,  my  dear  sir,  it  is  no 
small  step.  Now,  if  I  had  Tom  Thumb's  boots,  or 
to  be  more  classical,  if  I  had  Fortunatus's  cap,  the 
case  might  be  altered — I  mean  if  it  were  in  my 
power,  but  it  is  not.  I  have  been  invited  to  attend 
a  number  of  such  meetings  nearer  home,  but  find  it 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  143 

no  easy  matter  to  leave  my  people,  even  for  a  single 
Sabbath.  I  expect,  however,  God  willing,  to  attend 
one  at  E-obertsville,  South  Carolina,  which  is  to  com- 
mence on  Thursday  next.  O,  that  the  Master  may 
be  present,  and  that  all  his  servants  may  have  a  fresh 
anointing  from  on  high!  Truly,  we  live  in  a  won- 
derful day!  May  still  richer  blessings  come  doAvn 
from  Him  who  is  able  to  exceed  our  thoughts  and 
our  prayers. 

"When  you  receive  payment  from  Mr.  Adams, 
please  appropriate  ten  dollars  to  the  Colonization 
Society — it  is  a  favourite  institution  with  me.  I 
wish  I  could  give  full  ten  times  the  sum.  My  family 
are  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  usual  health;  indeed, 
in  this  respect,  we  have  been  very  much  blessed. 
O  for  a  thankful  heart ! 

"Tell  my  much  esteemed  friend.  Miss  Mary  M., 
that  her  very  excellent  letter  to  Mrs.  B.  has  been 
received,  and  it  afforded  us  much  pleasure.  She 
might  reasonably  have  expected  an  answer  long 
before  this;  but  Mrs.  B.,  as  a  correspondent,  is  very 
little  better  than  myself.  I  have  reminded  her  of 
her  deficiencies,  however,  and  if  I  have  any  influence 
with  Mrs.  B.,  our  mutual  friend  may  expect  soon  to 
receive  a  very  choice  letter.  Tell  her,  in  the  mean 
time,  that  we  both  love  her  very  sincerely;  and  that 
whether  there  be  many  or  few  letters,  our  affection 
for  her  is  now  the  same.  She  has  had,  as  well  as 
yourself,  very  great  and  peculiar  afflictions:  but  how 
pleasant  are  the  words  of  our  Lord,  'Are  not  two 
sparrows  sold  for  one  farthing,  and  not  one  of  them 
shall  fall  on  the  ground  without  your  Father;  fear 
not,   therefore,   ye   are   of  more  value   than   many 


144  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

sparrows.  O,  my  dear  friend,  the  idea  that  the 
hand  of  God  is  in  all  the  good  and  ill  that  checker 
life,  affords  sweet  consolation ;  and  O,  how  delightful 
is  the  assurance  that  all  things  work  together  for 
good  to  them  that  love  God,  and  that  the  time  is 
coming  when  he  shall  wipe  away  tears  from  off  all 
faces.     Love  to  all. 

"Yours,  very  sincerely, 

Daniel  Baker." 

It  was  about  this  time  that  the  Washington 
Church  gave  a  pressing  call  to  Mr.  Baker  to  resume 
his  pastorate  among  them.  The  following  letters 
from  Presidents  J.  Q.  Adams  and  Andrew  Jackson, 
written  in  connection  with  the  making  out  of  this 
call,  are  of  interest. 

"QuiNCY,  October  IGlh,  1830. 
•'James  H.  Handy,  Esq.,  Washington,  D.  C. 

•'Dear  Sir — I  have  received  your  letter  of  the 
27th  ultimo,  communicating  to  me  the  proceedings 
of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  at  Washington, 
consequent  upon  the  departure  of  their  late  pastor, 
the  Eev.  Mr.  C. 

"I  very  readily  comply  with  your  request,  in  the 
assurance  of  my  cordial  approbation  of  the  re-election 
of  their  former  pastor,  Rev.  Daniel  Baker;  for  whom, 
if  I  had  been  present,  my  vote  would  have  been 
cheerfully  given. 

"Accept  the  assurance  of  my  best  respects  and  fer- 
vent good  wishes  for  the  prosperity  of  the  church. 
"From  your  assured  friend, 

J.  Q.  Adams." 


RET.    DANIEL    BAKER,    D.  D.  145 

"Wasrixgtox,  Sept.  30///,  1830. 
"James  H.  Handy,  Esq.,  Washington  City. 

"  Sir — I  take  pleasure  in  acknowledging  the  re- 
ceipt of  your  letter  of  yesterday,  as  it  affords  me  an 
opportunity  of  expressing  my  concurrence  with  the 
result  of  the  election  in  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church,  to  supply  the  place  of  Mr.  C.  I  have  great 
confidence  in  the  piety  and  zeal  of  Mr.  Baker ;  and 
had  I  been  present  when  he  was  put  in  nomination, 
would  have  voted  for  him. 

"  I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

Andrew  Jackson." 

Dr.  Baker  did  not  see  his  way  clear  to  accept  the 
call  to  the  Washington  Church.  To  the  end  of  his 
life,  however,  he  regarded  the  members  of  that 
church  with  peculiar  affection,  ever  speaking  of  the 
Washington  Church  as  his  "first  love." 


CHAPTEE    VII. 


AS   AN    EVANGELIST. 


The  revival  in  my  church  having  been  noised  abroad 
(the  narrative  proceeds,)  and  this  having  originated 
in  a  protracted  meeting,  meetings  of  this  kind  were 
held  in  various  places.  One  was  appointed  in  Gilli- 
sonviUe,  South  Carolina,  to  which  I  was  invited,  and 
which  led  to  very  important  results.  Something 
like  sixty  persons  were  hopefully  converted;  two  or 
three  of  whom  subsequently  became  preachers  of  the 
13 


146  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF   THE 

gospel;  one,  Mr.  W.  Barnwell,  is  still  pastor  of  a 
flourishing  Episcopal  cliurcli  in  Charleston.  Shortly 
after  this,  I  attended  a  protracted  meeting  in  Gra- 
hamsville,  South  CaroHna,  and  also  in  a  certain 
church  on  May  River,  both  of  which  were  also 
greatly  blessed;  but  a  meeting  held  about  this  time 
in  Beaufort,  South  Carolina,  was,  of  all  others,  the 
most  remarkable.  By  the  influence  of  Mr.  W.  Barn- 
well, who  resided  in  Beaufort,  but  was  converted  in 
Gillisonville,  I  received  a  pressing  invitation  to  visit 
Beaufort.  I  went ;  and  there  being  no  Presbyterian 
church  in  the  place,  I  preached  alternately  in  the 
Baptist  and  Episcopal  churches.  The  Episcopal 
minister,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Walker,  was  very  cordial, 
and  ofl*ered  me  the  use  of  his  pulpit.  Knowing  the 
peculiar  views  of  our  Episcopal  brethren,  I  proposed 
standing  below ;  but  he  insisted  upon  it  that  I  should 
go  into  his  pulpit.  (This  1  would  do  after  the  reading 
of  the  Episcopal  service.)  O  what  blessed  meetings 
w^e  had!  Three  times  every  day  did  I  preach,  and 
night  and  day  to  full  houses.  Besides,  it  was  usual 
to  have  what  was  called  a  "  concert  of  prayer,"  at  the 
going  do^vn  of  the  sun.  A  few  would  meet  in  the 
house  of  a  neighbour,  and  after  singing 

"Blow  ye  the  trumpet,"  &c., 

would  unite  in  a  short  prayer.  Those  who  could  not 
meet,  would  hold  family  worship  in  their  own  houses, 
or  retire  at  the  same  hour  for  private  prayer.  The 
meeting  continued  to  increase  in  interest  until  the 
period  flxed  upon  for  its  close. 

At  this  time  I  fully  intended  to  return  to  Savan- 
nah, but  was  finally  prevailed  on  to  continue  a  few 
days   longer — even  until   the  whole   time  was   ten 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  147 

days.  The  crowds  which  attended  were  very  great. 
The  whole  number  of  persons  hopefully  converted 
amounted  to  about  eighty,  embracing  many  heads 
of  families,  and  individuals  of  almost  every  age, 
from  fourteen  to  eighty-six.  Towards  the  close  of 
the  meeting,  I  invited  those  who  had  lately  obtained 
a  hope,  to  occupy  certain  seats,  to  be  addressed  as  a 
distinct  class ;  and  very  interesting  was  the  sight,  to 
see  amongst  the  young  converts.  Colonel  D.  S.,  a 
most  venerable,  patriarchal  man,  of  four-score  and 
six.  He  had,  in  his  youth,  followed  the  celebrated 
Whiteiield,  and  heard  him  preach  many  sermons, 
without  any  saving  effect.  Subsequently  he  had 
been,  at  several  times,  Intendant  of  the  city  of 
Charleston,  and  was,  all  his  life-long,  if  I  mistake 
not,  a  confirmed  Unitarian,  until  the  period  of  liis 
conversion.  Here  was  one  emphatically  called  in  at 
the  eleventh  hour. 

Many  of  the  converts  were  young  men;  eight  of 
whom,  as  I  have  since  been  informed,  devoted  them- 
selves to  the  service  of  God,  in  the  sacred  office. 
One  of  them,  a  talented  lawyer,  upon  his  conver- 
sion, grasped  my  hand  with  strong  emotion,  and 
exclaimed,  "O,  Mr.  Baker,  I  have  an  ocean  of  joy!" 
— adding,  "what  would  have  become  of  me,  if  you 
had  not  come  here'?"  Another,  seeing  me  pass  by 
the  door  of  his  house,  rushed  out,  and  seizing  me  by 
the  hand,  observed,  "  Only  to  think,  that  that  name 
which  I  used  to  blaspheme,  is  now  my  only  hope! 
And  now,"  said  he,  "  I  think  I  can  forgive  a  person 
every  thing  in  the  world  except  one  thing."  "You 
must  forgive  your  bitterest  enemy,"  said  I.  "But 
what,"  said  he,  "if  any  person  should  attempt  to 


I'iS  LIFE   AND    LABOUKS   OF    THE 

take  away  my  Saviour  T'  Another  of  the  young 
men,  devoted  to  the  ministry,  has,  for  many  years, 
been  the  Episcopal  Bishop  of  Georgia.  Mr.  R.  Barn- 
well, subsequently  President  of  South  Carolina  Col- 
lege, was  also  brought  in  at  this  meeting;  and  so 
was  Mr.  Grayson,  who  has  since  been  a  distinguished 
member  of  Congress. 

At  that  time  Mr.  Grayson,  a  highly  talented  man, 
was  editor  of  the  Beaufort  Gazette,  and  upon  the 
close  of  the  meeting,  published  in  his  paper  the 
following  w^ell-written  account  of  the  revival. 

"We  had  frequently  heard  of  religious  revivals 
with  no  concern,  we  regret  to  say,  when  our  little 
town  became  the  scene  of  these  striking  and  inte- 
resting events.  The  Rev.  Daniel  Baker,  of  Savan- 
nah, has  been  with  us  for  some  time,  and  never, 
surely,  since  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  has  more 
fervid  zeal,  or  ardent  piety,  or  untiring  labour  been 
devoted  by  a  Christian  minister  to  his  cause.  For 
ten  unwearied  days,  from  morning  imtil  nine  at 
night,  have  we  heard  the  strongest  and  most  impas- 
sioned appeals  to  the  heads  and  hearts  of  his  hearers. 
All  that  is  terrible  or  beautiful;  all  that  is  winning 
or  appalling;  all  that  could  steal,  and  charm,  and 
soothe  the  heart,  or  shake  its  careless  security,  and 
command  its  attention  to  the  truths  of  religion,  we 
have  seen  pressed  upon  our  community  with  an 
earnestness,  energy,  and  affectionate  persuasiveness 
almost  irresistible. 

"The  effect  no  one  can  conceive,  who  was  not 
present.  Politics  were  forgotten;  business  stood 
still;  the  shops  and  stores  were  shut;  the  schools 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  149 

closed;  one  subject  only  appeared  to  occupy  all 
minds,  and  engross  all  hearts.  The  church  was 
filled  to  overflowing;  seats,  galleries,  aisles,  exhib- 
ited a  dense  mass  of  human  beings,  from  hoary  age 
to  childhood.  In  this  multitude  of  all  ages  and 
conditions,  there  were  occasional  pauses,  when  a  pin 
dropping  might  have  been  distinctly  heard.  When 
the  solemn  stillness  was  broken  by  the  voice  of  the 
preacher,  citing  the  impenitent  to  appear  before  the 
judgment-seat  of  heaven;  reproving,  persuading, 
imploring,  by  the  most  thrilling  appeals  to  every 
principle  of  his  nature;  and  when  crowds  moved 
forward  and  fell  prostrate  at  the  foot  of  the  altar, 
and  the  rich  music  of  hundreds  of  voices,  and  the 
solemn  accents  of  prayer  rose  over  the  kneeling 
multitude,  it  was  not  in  human  hearts  to  resist  the 
influence  that  awoke  its  sympathies,  and  spoke  its 
purest  and  most  elevated  feeling. 

'There  stood  the  messenger  of  Truth;  there  stood 
The  legate  o/  the  skies.     His  theme  divine, 
His  office  sacred,  and  his  credentials  clear. 
By  him  the  violated  law  spoke  out 
Its  thunders;  and  by  him,  in  strains  as  sweet 
As  angels  use,  the  gospel  whispered  peace.' 

"  The  union  of  sects  produced  on  the  occasion  was 
not  the  least  striking  feature  of  the  event.  Dis- 
tinctions were  laid  aside.  Christians  of  all  denomi- 
nations met  and  worshipped  together,  indiscrimi- 
nately, in  either  church,  and  the  cordiality  of  their 
mutual  attachment  was  a  living  commentary  on  the 
great  precept  of  their  Teacher,  "  Love  one  another." 
Animosities,  long  continued,  were  sacrificed ;  cold- 
ness and  formality  were  forgotten.  Our  community 
13* 


150  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

seemed  like  one  great  family,  and  it  was  impossible 
not  to  exclaim,  '  What  a  beautiful  thing  is  this  reli- 
gion! How  it  cheers,  and  warms,  and  elevates! 
How  successfully  it  inculcates  peace  on  earth,  and 
good  will  among  men !'  The  cordial  co-operation  of 
our  pastors  was  another  interesting  circumstance; 
there  was  no  petty  jealousy,  no  distrust,  no  hanging 
back.  They  regarded  themselves  as  labourers  in 
one  \ineyard,  and  the  minor  interests  of  a  part  were 
merged  for  the  time  in  the  larger  and  more  compre- 
hensive concerns  of  the  whole  Christian  Church,  of 
which  they  are  all  equally  members.  We  are  not 
surprised  that  these  revivals  are  hailed  with  enthu- 
siastic delight  by  professors  of  religion.  They  are 
triumphs  indeed  of  the  faith  to  which  they  adhere; 
and  the  accounts  of  them  must  fall  upon  their  ears 
like  glad  tidings  of  great  joy.  Even  to  the  most 
careless  observer,  however  disposed  to  be  sceptical 
or  speculative,  or  occupying,  as  he  may,  the  cold 
and  cheerless  region  of  a  self-dependent  philosophy, 
such  a  scene  as  we  have  lately  witnessed  must  pos- 
sess no  small  interest.  He  sees  religion  in  a  new 
aspect,  arrayed  in  beauty  that  he  never  dreamed  of: 

'  Not  harsh  or  crabbed — 
But  musical  as  is  Apollo's  lute: 
And  a  perpetual  feast  of  nectared  sweets, 
Where  no  crude  surfeit  reigns.' 

"'What,'  he  may  say,  'if  the  Christian  is  wrong? 
His  joys  are  nevertheless  pure,  elevated,  and  intel- 
lectual; and  he  is  animated  through  life  with  the 
cheering  hope  of  an  immortality  of  happiness.  If 
his  be  a  delusion,  it  is  one  to  be  envied,  not  avoided; 
but  what  if  he  should  be  rights" 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  151 

In  regard  to  this  remarkable  revival,  an  Episcopal 
minister,  well  acquainted  with  the  circumstances, 
thus  writes: 

"  The  Kev.  Daniel  Baker,  a  Presbyterian  minister, 
visited  Grahamville,  and  preached  with  remarkable 
success.  Many  of  the  young  and  the  old,  the  law- 
yers and  planters,  'turned  to  the  Lord.'  The  duellist 
threw  away  his  pistols,  the  infidel  believed  in  Christ, 
political  feuds  were  forgotten,  and  the  power  of  the 
gospel  confessed. 

"A  desire  to  participate  in  these  benefits  induced 
some  pious  citizens  of  Beaufort  to  invite  Mr.  Baker 
to  visit  them.  The  notice  of  his  visit,  and  of  the  pro- 
posed religious  services,  was  sent  from  house  to  house. 
In  one  instance,  it  was  received  at  a  whist  club,  during 
their  weekly  meeting,  and  read  aloud  by  one  of  the 
party  amidst  shouts  of  merriment.  The  intended 
meeting,  its  originators,  objects,  and  agents,  all 
afforded  ample  scope  for  ridicule.  Some  advised  ab- 
staining from  the  services  by  way  of  frowning  down 
such  folly.  But,  confident  of  their  ability  to  with- 
stand all  the  preacher's  snares,  they  determined  to 
attend,  and  prove  the  strength  of  their  own  armour. 
But  a  stronger  than  they  was  about  '  to  come  upon 
them,'  and  strip  them  of  the  armour  wherein  they 
trusted. 

"  Not  many  days  after,  eight  of  this  party  of  eleven 
were  found  'sitting  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,'  and  testify- 
ing to  the  power  of  his  grace.  One  of  the  number 
is  now  a  bishop,  and  another  an  esteemed  presbyter 
of  the  Episcopal  Church. 

"The  services  were  held  twice  or  thrice  a  day, 
alternately  in  the  Episcopal  and  Baptist  churches,  the 


152  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

only  two  places  of  worship  in  the  town ;  the  use  of 
the  Episcopal  church  being  tendered  by  the  Vestry 
for  that  purpose.  The  congregations  increased  daily ; 
the  whole  community,  laying  aside  their  avocations, 
gave  themselves  up  to  the  religious  services.  The 
word  was  'with  power,'  whenever  and  by  whomso- 
ever preached.  The  consciences  of  sinners  were 
aroused.  The  hearts  of  God's  people  were  moved  to 
earnest,  prevailing  intercession.  Every  day  brought 
accessions  to  the  ranks  of  those  who  'mourned  for 
sin.'  Every  day  witnessed  the  joy  of  those  who  ex- 
changed tears  of  sorrow  for  smiles  of  happiness  in 
attaining  a  hope  of  salvation.  The  voice  of  praise 
and  thanksgiving  burst  forth  from  lips  unused  to  the 
worship  of  God.  The  scoffer  knelt  down  in  the 
church  to  pray.  The  proud  formalist  wept  over  his 
sins,  and  sought  the  intercessions  of  his  friends.  The 
gambler  left  his  cards,  and  the  convivialist  his  bottle, 
and  '  went  with  the  multitude  to  the  house  of  God.' 
The  interval  between  the  public  services  was  spent 
in  prayer  in  private  houses,  in  conference  with  the 
ministers,  and  in  religious  conversation.  The  consci- 
ousness of  eternity  seemed  impressed  upon  every 
individual.  '  The  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  face 
of  the'  community.  A  holy  atmosphere  pervaded 
the  town,  and  affected  the  entire  population  to  a 
degree  unparalleled,  save  in  the  revival  described  by 
President  Edwards,  at  Northampton,  in  1735. 

"It  is  difficult  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  feeling 
which  characterized  the  religious  assemblies.  It  was 
not  noisy,  like  the  brawling  brook;  but  deep,  still, 
solemn,  like  the  mighty  river.  Once,  at  the  close  of 
an  evening  service,  when  the  congregation  seemed  to 


KEY.    DANIEL  BAKER,   D.  D.  153 

drink  in  the  preached  gospel,  the  minister  invited 
those  who  desired  the  prayers  of  their  brethren  to 
kneel  around  the  chancel.  There  was  a  momentary 
pause  in  the  church,  when,  simultaneously,  every 
pew  door  appeared  to  fly  open;  and  not  the  chancel 
only,  but  the  aisles  also,  were  thronged  with  a  kneel- 
ing multitude,  in  solemn  silence,  'waiting  for  the 
moving  of  the  waters.'  God  was  manifestly  present 
'in  the  assemblies  of  his  saints.'  The  truths  of  the 
gospel  were  realized  as  they  never  had  been  before, 
and  the  '  people  believed  in  the  Lord,'  and  gave  glory 
to  his  name. 

"But  what  were  the  effects  of  this  deep  feehngl 
Most  of  our  readers  have  probably  seen  enough  of  the 
transient  influence  of '  revivals,'  so  called,  to  distrust 
the  results  of  religious  excitement.  But  the  'fruits' 
of  this  movement  remain,  and  are  obvious  at  the 
present  day.  As  the  whole  population  felt  the 
divine  impulse,  some,  doubtless,  did  not  obey;  but 
the  great  majority  became  consistent  and  useful 
Christans,  filling  many  stations  of  honour  and  influ- 
ence in  the  church  and  in  the  world. 

"The  results  of  this  revival  upon  the  congrega- 
tions in  Beaufort,  are  as  follows:  The  number  of 
communicants  was  increased  manifold.  At  the  first 
visitation  of  Bishop  Bowen,  after  this  meeting, 
seventy,  chiefly  of  the  young,  the  refined,  and  the 
wealthy,  presented  themselves  for  confirmation,  sin- 
cerely offering  their  hearts  to  God.  About  the  same 
number  of  whites,  and  very  many  blacks,  also  joined 
the  Baptists.  It  is  a  singular  fact,  attesting  the 
disinterestedness  of  the  preacher,  that  out  of  two  or 
three  hundred  conversions  in  Beaufort,  under  Mr. 


154  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

Baker's  ministry,  not  one  became  a  Presbyterian. 
The  Episcopalians  and  Baptists  reaped  the  fruit  of 
his  labours.  He  seemed  intent  upon  the  conversion 
of  souls;  and  the  Lord  wonderfully  blessed  his 
preaching  to  the  saving  of  many.  Others  came  in 
more  slowly  to  the  Episcopal  church,  making  the 
addition  of  communicants,  during  the  year,  one  hun- 
dred. Of  this  number,  but  two  have  drawn  back 
from  their  profession ;  one  of  whom  had  been  intem- 
perate for  many  years.  Six  months  after  the  events 
described,  the  writer  was  present  at  their  commu- 
nion, and  saw,  what  he  has  never  seen  elsewhere, 
the  entire  congregation,  with  two  exceptions,  remain 
for  the  sacrament.  When  the  children  retired,  two 
adults  arose  and  left  the  church.  The  rest  of  the 
congregation  partook  of  the  ordinance. 

"The  parish  church  has  been  increased  to  twice 
its  original  capacity,  and  is  better  filled  now  than  it 
was  before,  though  the  population  of  the  town  has 
not  advanced  in  fifty  years. 

"The  effects  of  the  revival  were  as  visible  upon 
the  community  as  upon  the  church.  It  seasoned 
with  its  holy  savour  all  the  intercourse  of  society. 
The  truths  of  God's  word,  the  glories  of  his  gospel, 
the  power  of  his  grace,  were  frequent  themes  of 
conversation.  'They  that  feared  the  Lord  spake 
often  one  to  another,'  and  were  not  ashamed.  The 
stranger  within  their  gates  felt  the  influence  of  the 
holy  atmosphere,  and  was  drawn  by  the  power  of 
sympathy  towards  Jesus,  and  often  believed  unto 
salvation.  Family  prayer  was  established  in  almost 
every  house,  and  as  you  walked  along  the  streets,  in 
the  stillness  of  a  summer  morning,  you  might  hear 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  155 

the  united  voice  of  each  household  ascending  in 
well-known  hymns  of  praise,  to  the  honour  of  their 
great  Redeemer,  The  singing  of  hymns  constituted 
the  chief  recreation  of  the  young,  in  all  their  social 
intercourse;  and  we  doubt  whether  more  true  joy 
was  ever  derived  by  the  votary  of  pleasure  from  the 
brilliant  assembly,  than  by  the  Christian  from  this 
religious  exercise. 

"  Such  was  the  pervading  influence  of  the  religious 
principle  upon  the  whole  aspect  of  society,  that  it 
cast  it  into  the  gospel  mould,  and  stamped  it  with  its 
own  holy  features.  The  world  was  in  the  minority; 
the  gospel  had  a  strong  majority,  and  asserted  its 
power  over  the  hearts  and  morals  of  the  community. 
For  twenty  years  past  there  has  been  a  higher  moral 
and  religious  tone,  and  a  more  intelligent  and  con- 
sistent profession  of  Christianity  maintained  in  that 
little  town  than  in  any  other  which  the  writer  has 
visited  in  Europe  or  America. 

"  What  were  the  effects  upon  the  ministry  of  our 
church'?  "Within  a  few  months,  and  from  the  im- 
pulse received  from  this  meeting,  eight  men  went 
forth  from  this  our  congregation  to  preach  the  gospel 
of  Christ.  If  you  include  the  influence  of  this  meet- 
ing upon  neighbouring  congregations,  and  chiefly 
under  the  same  ministry,  three  more  labourers  were 
called  into  the  Lord's  vineyard.  Those  who  are  still 
in  the  field  are  the  bishop  of  Georgia,  and  the  mis- 
sionary bishop  to  China,  E,ev.  W.  H.  Barnwell,  Rev. 
S.  Elliott,  Rev.  C.  C.  Pinckney,  Rev.  B.  C.  Webb, 
of  this  diocese ;  the  Rev.  R.  Johnson,  and  the  Rev. 
W.  Johnson,  of  Georgia.  The  distinguished  Bap- 
tist preacher,  Rev.  R.  Fuller,  of  Baltimore,  was  also 


156  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

a  subject  of  this  revival,  and  is  the  sixth  of  this  list 
who  exchanged  the  profession  of  the  law  for  the 
ministry  of  the  gospel. 

"What  were  the  effects  upon  the  diocese]  You 
must  calculate  the  influence  of  the  ministry  of  these 
labourers,  directly  and  indirectly,  upon  the  cause  of 
Christ,  ere  you  can  fully  answer  the  question.  The 
leaven  of  that  revival  has  already  penetrated  the  mass 
of  our  church  in  this  diocese.  It  has  infused  a  new 
life  into  Episcopacy,  and  awakened  a  more  earnest 
and  evangelical  spirit  in  the  hearts  of  clergy  and 
laity.  It  has  moulded  much  of  the  doctrinal  and 
ecclesiastical  sentiment  now  prevailing  among  us, 
and  stimulated  that  missionary  feeling  which  has 
given  our  diocese  a  high  place  among  the  warmest 
friends  of  missions." 

The  narrative  proceeds : 

About  the  same  time  there  was  also  high  political 
excitement  in  South  Carolina.  Parties  were  arrayed 
against  each  other,  and  many  persons  went  armed. 
I  recollect  well  the  cases  of  three  gentlemen,  who 
lived  not  very  far  from  each  other,  and  who  were 
brought  to  bow  at  the  feet  of  the  Kedeemer  about 
the  same  time.  Two  were  lawyers,  and  the  third  a 
rich  planter.  In  giving  an  account  of  what  the  Lord 
had  done  for  them,  one  remarked,  "I  had  a  quarrel 
with  a  certain  gentleman,  and  had  made  up  my 
mind,  that  the  first  time  I  should  see  him,  I  would 
spit  in  his  face !  but  O,  sir,  as  soon  as  it  pleased  God 
to  reveal  his  love  in  my  heart,  the  first  thing  I  did 
was  to  pray  for  that  man;  and  meeting  him  a  few 
days  afterwards,  I  went  up  to  him  and  gave  him 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  157 

both  hands,  in  token  of  cordial  reconciliation."  An- 
other said,  "I  was  about  sending  to  Charleston  for  a 
brace  of  pistols — I  thought  I  should  have  occasion 
for  them;  but  now,"  added  he,  "I  would  be  willing 
to  kiss  the  dust  upon  the  feet  of  the  Union-men,  if 
they  would  only  come  to  Christ.  The  third  gentle- 
man remarked,  "  Sir,  you  do  not  know  the  state  of 
political  excitement  amongst  us  here.  Why,  sir,  I 
felt  myself  as  if  I  could  just  seize  my  gun  and  go 
out  to  the  road  and  shoot  down  my  own  brother  if 
he  belonged  to  the  other  party.  Now  I  can  take 
them  all  in  my  arms  and  say,  God  bless  every  one  of 
them!"     What  a  blessed  religion  ours  is! 

Upon  closing  the  meeting,  I  received  something 
life  fifty  notes,  from  persons  of  every  class,  expressive 
of  their  feelings,  and  tendering  to  me  their  thanks 
for  the  great  good  which  I  had  been  instrumental 
in  doing  them.  One,  I  recollect,  began  in  this  way: 
"Joy,  joy,  joy  in  heaven!  and  joy  on  earth!  and  joy 
to  you,  Sir!"  and  then  followed  an  account  of  the 
occasion  of  this  joy.  Upon  leaving  Beaufort,  Mr. 
Means,  by  whom  I  had  been  most  hospitably  enter- 
tained, had  the  kindness  to  send  me  and  my  little 
daughter,  Theodora,  in  a  row-boat  all  the  way  to 
Savannah;  adding  this  mark  of  respect,  to  accom- 
pany me  himself  part  of  the  way.  A  few  days  after 
reaching  Savannah,  I  was  overwhelmed  with  aston- 
ishment on  receiving,  through  the  medium  of  the 
post  ofiice,  a  most  courteous  and  beautiful  letter, 
containing,  amongst  other  complimentary  things, 
these  words:  "The  citizens  of  Beaufort  have  de- 
posited to  your  credit,  in  the  Bank  of  the  United 
States,  the  sum  of  nine  hundred  and  sixty-one  dol- 
14 


158  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

lars  and  fifty  cents."  This  extraordinary  act  of  muni- 
ficence overwhelmed  me,  and  was  particularly  grati- 
fying, as  I  received  it  as  a  remarkable  providence. 

Hankering  after  a  missionary  life,  I  had  pretty 
much  made  up  my  mind  to  resign  my  charge,  and 
engage  in  the  service  of  a  missionary  society  in 
Georgia;  but  to  be  cut  down  from  two  thousand 
dollars  to  six  hundred  dollars,  was  a  serious  afi'air; 
and  I  confess  that  I  anticipated  some  hardships  to  be 
endured  by  myself  and  family,  and  behold,  here  a 
large  provision  was  made  in  advance.  Was  not  the 
hand  of  God  in  this'?  It  seemed  to  speak  in  tones 
from  heaven,  loud  and  distinct,  "  Go  forth  as  a  mis- 
sionary, and  preach  the  gospel."  Accordingly,  not 
long  after  this,  I  resigned  my  charge,  and,  I  must 
say,  a  noble  one  it  was ;  for  I  never  knew  a  church 
which  embraced  more  intelligence  and  piety;  nor 
did  I  ever  know  a  people  more  kind  and  generous. 
Great  efi'orts  were  made  to  induce  me  to  reconsider 
my  determination;  but  when  it  was  seen  that  my 
mind  was  fully  made  up,  there  was  a  public  meeting 
of  the  congregation;  a  series  of  resolutions  passed, 
certainly  honourable  to  the  people,  and  no  less 
gratifying  to  myself.  Amongst  other  complimen- 
tary resolutions  was  this:  that  the  sum  of  Hye  hun- 
dred dollars  shoidd  be  presented  to  me  as  an  expres- 
sion of  the  respect  and  afi'ection  of  the  people  for 
me.  O,  how  good  has  the  Lord  been  to  me,  in 
raising  me  up  so  many  friends  in  so  many  places ! 
Administering  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
for  the  last  time  in  Savannah,  on  Sabbath  morning, 

1831,  that   evening   I   preached   my   farewell 

sermon  to  a  full  house,  although  the  weather  was 


KEY.   DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  159 

very  unfavourable.  The  next  week  I  entered  upon 
my  labours  as  a  missionary,  or,  as  was  called,  an 
"Evangelist."  I  expected  these  labours  to  continue 
about  six  months,  when,  by  reason  of  most  unex- 
pected success,  and  some  very  remarkable  provi- 
dences, they  were  continued  for  about  three  years. 
The  original  idea  was,  that  I  should  serve  in  the 
employment  of  a  missionary  society,  located,  I  think, 
in  Augusta,  who  were  willing  to  allow  me  six  hun- 
dred dollars  per  annum;  but  a  great  desire  having 
been  expressed  by  Dr.  W.  McDowell,  of  Charles- 
ton, and  others,  that  I  should  labour  in  South 
Carolina,  I  wished  to  labour  in  that  State  also.  In 
regard  to  this,  the  difficulty  was,  that  if  I  extended 
my  labours  beyond  the  limits  of  the  State  of  Geor- 
gia, I  could  receive  no  support  from  the  missionary 
society  of  that  State.  In  these  circumstances,  it 
was  suggested  that  I  should  act  as  a  missionary 
under  the  Synod  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia. 
But  the  Synod  had  no  missionary  fund.  What  was 
to  be  done'?  I  stated  that  if  the  Synod  thought 
proper,  they  might  adopt  me  as  their  missionary, 
and  recommend  me  to  the  churches  in  their  bounds, 
and  I  would  trust  to  Providence  for  my  support. 
The  Synod,  accordingly,  acted  upon  this  suggestion, 
passed  appropriate  resolutions,  and,  locating  my 
family  first  in  one  place,  and  then  in  another,  I 
entered  upon  a  course  of  missionary  labours,  and 
especially  upon  a  series  of  protracted  meetings, 
which,  if  I  do  not  greatly  mistake,  will  mark  the 
best  period  of  my  life ;  my  labours  were  more  abun- 
dant, and  my  success  far  beyond  my  most  sanguine 
anticipations.     My  field  was  extensive.     During  the 


160  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

first  two  years,  I  held  protracted  meetings  in  Mid- 
way, Darien,  St.  Marys,  Augusta,  Athens,  and  Ma- 
con, in  Georgia;  in  St.  Augustine,  Tallahassee, 
Monticello,  Quincy,  and  Mariana,  in  Florida. 

The  following  statement  in  regard  to  the  meeting 
in  Tallahassee,  is  by  one  who  is  well  qualified  to 
speak.  After  the  death  of  Dr.  Baker,  speaking  of 
him,  he  says: 

"We  have  had  few  men  in  this  country  whose 
labours  have  been  so  greatly  blessed,  and  it  will  be 
profitable  for  us  to  inquire,  why  was  he  so  highly 
favoured'?  I  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  in  Talla- 
hassee, and  one  of  the  original  rnembers  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church  organized  there  in  1832.  Our  num- 
bers were  small,  and  our  prospects  discouraging, 
when,  near  the  close  of  1832,  we  heard  of  the  great 
revivals  which  followed  the  labours  of  Mr.  Baker. 
"We  felt  deeply  our  need  of  such  a  work,  and  after 
consulting  together  on  the  subject,  I  was  requested 
to  invite  Mr.  Baker  to  visit  us.  He  accepted  the 
invitation,  and  about  the  last  of  February,  or  early  in 
March,  1833,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  him 
and  his  son  W.  under  my  roof,  where  they  continued 
during  the  whole  of  their  stay  in  the  city. 

"  Notice  of  his  arrival  was  immediately  given,  and 
a  good  audience  was  gathered  in  the  evening  to  hear 
him.  The  citizens  of  Tallahassee  and  its  vicinity, 
embracing  at  that  time  representatives  of  many  of 
the  most  distinguished  famiUes,  particularly  of  the 
Southern  States,  were  not  surpassed,  and  probably 
not  equalled  in  intelligence  and  refinement  by  the 
people  of  any  other  city  of  its  size  in  the  United 


REY.    DANIEL  BAKER,   D.  D.  161 

States.  I  watched  with  much  anxiety  the  first  im- 
pression he  made  on  such  an  audience.  That  impres- 
sion was  every  thing  his  friends  could  desire;  and  it 
was  at  once  evident,  that  so  far  as  human  instru- 
mentality was  concerned,  we  had  nothing  to  fear. 
On  my  way  home  from  the  meeting,  I  asked  a  gen- 
tleman, who  has  since  occupied  the  highest  place  in 
our  national  legislature,  what  he  thought  of  the  ser- 
mon. 'Excellent,  excellent,'  said  he.  'Then,  of 
course,  you  will  hear  him  again]'  'No,'  he  replied, 
'I  am  bound  to  occupy  a  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  and  if  I  go  to  hear  him,  he'll  spoil  it 
all.'  This  gentleman  was,  however,  persuaded  to 
hear  him  again,  and,  on  conversing  with  him  next 
day,  he  said,  'I  can  stand  your  fire  and  brimstone 
preachers  very  well,  but  this  man  makes  me  cry,  and 
I  must  keep  out  of  his  way,  or  he  will  make  a  saint 
of  me.'  Every  one  who  ever  heard  one  of  Mr. 
Baker's  sermons  on  the  love  of  God,  or  the  ingrati- 
tude of  the  sinner,  can  understand  the  force  of  the 
honourable  senator's  remark. 

"  There  were  few  men  hardened  enough  to  resist 
these  appeals.  His  own  soul  was  filled  with  grati- 
tude and  love,  and  he  was  intensely  anxious  to 
persuade  all  who  heard  him,  to  be,  in  this  respect, 
'almost  and  altogether  such  as  he  was.'  His  appeals 
were  so  kind,  so  earnest,  so  evidently  sincere,  that, 
whatever  other  effects  they  produced,  his  impenitent 
hearers  could  not  resist  the  impression  that  the 
speaker  was  their  friend.  And  this  was  one  secret, 
so  far  as  human  agency  was  concerned,  of  his  great 
power  over  his  audience.  But  there  was  something 
more  in  his  discourses  than  sincerity  and  earnest- 


162  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF  THE 

ness.  They  were  prepared  with  great  labour  and 
care,  and  the  manner  of  uttering  every  sentence 
thoroughly  studied.  They  were  not  exactly  com- 
mitted to  memory,  but  every  thought  was  so  well 
fixed  and  arranged  in  his  mind,  that  it  was  never 
omitted  nor  introduced  out  of  its  proper  place.  His 
sermons  had  consequently  all  the  order  and  compact- 
ness of  written  discourses,  with  the  ease  and  freedom 
of  extemporary  appeals.  This  series  of  sermons 
embraced  all  the  great  topics  which  are  usually  most 
effectual  in  their  influence  on  the  human  heart;  and 
they  were  so  carefully  prepared,  that  it  was  almost 
impossible  to  change,  without  injuring  them;  once 
heard,  they  were  so  deeply  fixed  in  the  mind  that 
they  were  never  forgotten.  There  is  scarcely  a 
sermon  which  he  preached  during  the  nearly  three 
weeks  he  was  with  us,  of  which  I  cannot  now  recall, 
not  only  the  matter,  but  even  his  gestures  and  tones 
of  voice. 

"Another  secret  of  Mr.  Baker's  power,  was  his 
uniform  habit  of  earnest  communion  with  God,  in 
his  closet,  before  he  delivered  his  message  to  the 
people  from  the  desk.  That  communion  was  at 
times  so  near,  and  his  face  was  so  lighted  up  with 
heavenly  love  and  zeal,  that  you  could  easily  imagine 
it  shone  like  that  of  Moses,  when  he  descended  from 
the  Mount.  Mr.  Baker  visited  but  little  from  house 
to  house;  his  other  labours  did  not  allow  him  to  do 
so ;  he  never,  I  believe,  took  a  meal  but  once  out  of 
my  house  while  he  was  with  us,  and  that  was  with 
one  of  the  most  desperately  wicked  men  in  the  city, 
who  had  expressed  a  wish  to  converse  with  him. 
To  all  invitations  his  reply  was  in  the  words  of  Matt. 


REV.    DANIEL  BAKER,   D.  D.  163 

X.  1 1 ;  and  to  that  he  adhered.  But  though  he  did 
not  visit  himself,  he  strongly  urged  the  duty  on  the 
brethren.  He  availed  himself  of  the  means  then  in 
common  use,  of  church  fast  days,  anxious  seats,  rela- 
tions of  experience,  meetings  of  the  anxious  in  one 
room,  which  he  always  attended,  and  meetings  of  the 
church  for  prayer  at  the  same  time  in  another  room, 
and  the  agreement  by  two  or  more  members  of  the 
church  to  ^dsit,  labour  with,  and  pray  together  for 
one  or  more  impenitent  friends,  whom  they  had 
selected  for  that  purpose. 

"  In  the  family  he  was  one  of  the  most  delightfully 
companionable  men  I  ever  knew;  he  loved  children 
dearly,  and  they  were  never  so  much  delighted  as 
when  they  found  him  at  leisure  to  romp  and  play 
with  them.  He  was,  for  the  time,  as  much  their 
companion  as  their  most  favourite  playmates;  but  in 
their  wildest  sports  he  never  forgot  his  own  high 
calling,  nor  lost  an  opportunity  to  do  them  good;  and 
there  was  nothing  they  loved  better  than  to  gather 
around  him,  as  they  did  every  day,  and  listen  to  his 
instructions. 

"  It  was  in  a  great  measure  owing  to  this  exceed- 
ingly amiable  and  child-like  simplicity,  and  his  strict 
regard  to  all  the  courtesies  of  social  life,  that  he  was 
able  to  present  those  great  truths  which  are  most 
repulsive  to  the  natural  heart,  with  the  utmost  faith- 
fulness and  directness,  without  ever  giving  offence. 
Wicked  men  often  quarrelled  with  his  message,  but 
never  with  him.  His  labours  in  Tallahassee  were 
greatly  blessed,  and  the  church  was  strengthened  by 
the  addition   of  more   than  forty  members,  among 


164  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

whom  were  some  of  the  most  intelhgent  and  influen- 
tial men  in  the  city." 

There  is  one  circumstance  which  illustrates  the 
feelings  with  which  this  meeting  was  regarded  by 
the  two  classes  into  which  the  community  was  divided. 
During  one  of  the  night  services,  some  of  the  oppo- 
sers  fired  off  a  quantity  of  fire-crackers  near  the 
church.  Next  morning,  before  breakfast,  one  hun- 
dred dollars  had  been  subscribed,  to  be  offered  as  a 
reward  for  the  apprehension  of  the  persons  guilty  of 
the  outrage. 

Here  may  be  mentioned  another  incident  con- 
nected with  this  period. 

Party  spirit  ran  high  in  Florida.  Near  a  certain 
small  town,  not  a  hundred  miles  from  Tallahassee, 
lived  a  la^vyer,  a  warm  political  partizan,  a  fighting 
character.  During  a  protracted  meeting  in  his 
neighbourhood,  he  was  awakened,  and  numbered 
amongst  the  converts.  A  few  days  after,  at  table  in 
the  house  of  a  friend,  he  was  asked  by  a  clergyman 
present,  to  give  some  account  of  his  conversion.  He 
replied:    "Last  Saturday  morning   I  put  a  dagger 

into  my  bosom,  and  went  to ,  fully  resolved  that 

if  any  man  insulted  me,  I  would  stab  him  to  the 
heart.  On  returning  home,  I  attended  preaching. 
It  pleased  God  that  night  to  show  me  what  a  sinner 
I  was;  at  such  a  time  I  found  peace  in  believing, 
and  now  I  indulge  an  humble  hope  that  I  am  a  child 
of  God."  "Mr.  M.,"  said  the  clergyman,  looking 
him  in  the  face,  "Mr.  M.,  what  have  you  done  with 
the  dagger  of  which  you  spoke  1     Have  you  given  it 


KEY.   DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  165 

away  yef?"  "No,"  replied  he,  "I  am  waiting  until 
I  come  to  deep  water;  I  shall  drop  it  there,  and  my 
pistol  shall  go  along  with  it."  Blessed  be  God  for 
that  religion  which  can  thus  soften  do^vn  the  rough 
points  of  the  human  character;  which  can  thus  con- 
vert the  lion  into  a  lamb,  the  vulture  into  a  dove ! 

The  autobiography  proceeds. 

I  held  a  protracted  meeting  also  in  Montgomery, 
Alabama. 

A  gentleman,  writing  under  date  of  July  4th,  1833, 
says  of  the  meeting  in  Montgomery : 

"You  will  be  gratified  to  learn,  that  during  the 
last  spring  our  town  was  visited  with  a  shower  of 
divine  influence.  In  the  month  of  April  a  pro- 
tracted meeting  was  commenced  and  carried  forward 
through  eighteen  successive  days,  which  resulted  in 
the  hopeful  conversion  of  more  than  thirty  souls. 
Brother  Daniel  Baker  was  with  us,  and  to  him,  under 
God,  are  these  blessed  results  to  be  ascribed.  Never 
have  I  seen  more  deep  and  general  interest  on  any 
occasion.  All  secular  business  seemed  for  the  time 
to  be  laid  aside  and  forgotten.  Religion  appeared 
the  all-engrossing  subject  of  thought  and  conversa- 
tion; all  denominations,  laying  aside  their  sectarian 
prejudices  and  peculiarities,  were  united  as  the  heart 
of  one  man,  in  prayer  and  in  pointing  anxious  sinners 
to  the  Saviour.  "We  felt  that  the  Spirit  of  God  was 
present,  of  a  truth.  While  Christians  were  rejoicing 
with  a  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory,  weeping 
sinners,  by  scores,  were  seen  crowding  to  the  anxious 
seats  and  inquiry  meeting,  with  the  pentecostal  cry, 
'What  must  we  doT     It  was  a  season  that  gave 


166  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

birth  to  joy  on  earth,  and,  I  believe  there  were 
rejoicings  in  heaven. 

"  I  had  often  heard  of  the  indefatigable  labours  of 
brother  Baker,  that  highly-favoured  herald  of  the 
cross;  but  my  conceptions  were  very  inadequate, 
until  the  great  Plead  of  the  Church  sent  him  to  us. 
It  is  but  just  to  say,  I  have  never  seen  more  untiring 
labour  and  apostolic  zeal.  During  the  meeting,  his 
speaking  in  the  church  would  have  amounted  to 
seven  hours  a  day;  and  such  was  his  eloquence,  his 
power  to  interest,  affect,  and  charm,  that  all  eyes 
were  rivetted,  and  all  hearts  were  by  turns  melted, 
charmed,  and  captivated.  Although  he  has  left  us, 
and  perhaps  for  ever,  yet  his  name  and  his  labours  of 
love  will  live  embalmed  in  the  affectionate  remem- 
brance of  the  people  of  our  town.  His  labours  were 
also  greatly  blessed  to  the  surrounding  churches 
which  he  visited.  But  while  we  thus  speak  of  our 
worthy  brother,  we  do  not  forget  that  from  God 
Cometh  the  increase,  and  to  his  name  be  aU  the 
glory." 

The  autobiography  proceeds. 

I  held  also  a  few  protracted  meetings  in  North 
Carolina ;  but  South  Carolina  was  the  principal  scene 
of  my  labours  as  an  "EvangeHst,"  so  called.  It  was 
common  with  me  to  locate  my  family  in  some  desir- 
able and  convenient  place,  and  go  out  upon  a  mis- 
sionary tour  of  two  or  three  months,  and  return  to 
them  and  rest  a  while.  The  most  remarkable  tour 
embraced  twelve  protracted  meetings  in  twelve  con- 
secutive weeks;  those  hopefully  converted  averaging 
forty-five  for  each  meeting.  Some  of  the  most 
important    places   were  Waltcrborough,   Columbia, 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  167 

Camden,  Cheraw,  Winnsboro',  Laurens  Court  House, 
Newberry,  Pendleton,  and  several  churches  in  Abbe- 
ville and  Union  Districts. 

"I  was  a  student,"  says  one,  in  regard  to  the  period 
above  mentioned,  "in  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
Columbia,  South  Carolina,  when,  on  Tuesday  even- 
ing, the  8th  of  May,  1832,  a  series  of  religious 
meetings  was  commenced,  in  which  Presbyterians, 
Methodists  and  Baptists  united.  The  meetings 
were  conducted  by  the  Pev.  Daniel  Baker,  since 
D.  D.,  who  was  soon  instrumental  in  awakening 
much  religious  interest  in  that  capital  city  of  the 
State. 

"From  my  journal  of  that  period,  I  find  that  the 
first  inquiry  meeting  was  held  on  the  fourth  day  of 
these  special  services,  when  about  fifteen  persons 
attended,  to  ask  what  they  must  do  to  be  saved. 
And  on  the  15th  of  May,  from  fifty  to  sixty  were 
at  the  inquiry  meeting,  including  eight  or  ten  per- 
sons, who,  by  that  time,  were  reckoned  converts',  and 
were  ready  to  tell  what  the  Lord  had  done  for  their 
souls.  The  18th  of  May  was  observed  as  a  day  of 
fasting,  humiliation,  and  prayer,  by  the  churches  in 
Columbia,  and  revival  influences  evidently  increased 
among  believers  and  inquiring  sinners. 

"  This  series  of  religious  services,  which  were  held 
mostly  in  the  evening,  was  concluded  by  a  regular 
three-days'  meeting,  which  finally  closed  on  the 
evening  of  May  27th;  when  about  twenty-five  were 
found  to  be  rejoicing  in  new  hopes  of  eternal  life, 
and  more  than  fifty  were  still  inquiring  the  way  to 
Zion. 


168  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

"The  Baptist  brethren  next  held  a  protracted 
meetmg  by  themselves,  which  was  blessed  with  the 
gracious  influences  of  the  Spirit.  I  think  Mr.  Baker 
had  then  left  the  city.  But  the  good  work,  begiui 
under  his  instrumentality,  went  on  till  about  one 
hundred  were  reckoned  as  converts,  some  forty  of 
whom  united  with  the  Presbyterian  Church  on  the 
first  of  July.  How  many  joined  subsequently,  or 
united  with  other  churches,  as  the  fruits  of  that 
revival,  I  am  unable  to  state ;  but  it  was  a  glorious 
season  in  that  dark  period. 

"Mr.  Baker  having  returned  to  Columbia,  where 
his  family  then  resided,  at  his  particular  invitation, 
on  the  20th  of  August,  I  started  with  him  to  attend 
a  protracted  meeting  at  Nazareth  Church,  in  Spar- 
tanburg District,  about  one  hundred  miles  northwest 
from  Columbia.  We  reached  our  destination  on  the 
23d  of  August,  and  that  day  Mr.  Baker  preached 
twice  to  a  congregation  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  to 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  people.  The  next  day 
the  audience  was  much  larger,  and  a  number  gave 
evidence  of  deep  anxiety  on  the  subject  of  religion. 
On  the  25tli  of  the  month,  the  congregation  had 
increased  to  six  hundred  or  seven  hundred  persons, 
and  that  day  about  forty-five  attended  the  inquiry 
meeting,  nearly  half  of  whom  had  just  begun  to 
rejoice  in  the  Saviour;  and  on  the  29th  of  August, 
when  we  left  Nazareth,  about  eighty  were  numbered 
as  converts,  while  fifty  or  sixty  were  still  inquiring 
the  way  of  eternal  life. 

"From  Nazareth  we  proceeded  to  Winnsboro',  a 
large  and  flourishing  viUage,  about  thirty  miles 
northwesterly  from  Columbia.     We  arrived  on  tlie 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  169 

afternoon  of  Friday,  the  last  day  of  August,  and 
though  unexpected  at  the  time,  Mr.  Balder  com- 
menced a  protracted  meeting  by  preaching  in  the 
evening.  The  next  morning  there  was  a  meeting  of 
professors  of  religion,  and  in  the  course  of  the  day 
some  sinners  were  found  in  an  anxious  state  of  mind. 
On  Sabbath,  the  2d  of  September,  there  were  about 
fifty  at  the  inquiry  meeting;  and  at  a  special  meet- 
ing in  the  afternoon,  for  the  unconverted,  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty  were  present;  and  in  the  even- 
ing of  that  interesting  day,  some  ten  or  twelve  were 
foimd  rejoicing  in  hope.  On  Tuesday,  September 
4th,  the  inquiry  meeting  seemed  to  partake  of  pente- 
costal  influences,  for  about  fifteen  souls  believed  it 
to  be  their  hour  of  grace.  On  the  next  day,  the 
whole  number  were  young,  or  in  the  fresh  prime  of 
life.  About  thirty  were  still  inquiring  for  salvation. 
On  Friday  morning,  September  7th,  a  week  after  our 
arrival,  the  protracted  services  closed  with  an  inquiry 
meeting  at  sunrise. 

"  During  that  precious  week,  Mr.  Baker  preached 
sixteen  sermons.  At  Nazareth  and  at  Columbia 
he  had  abounded  in  the  ministration  of  the  word, 
though  I  have  no  memoranda  of  the  exact  amount. 
Other  ministers  shared  in  the  preaching,  especially 
at  the  two  last-named  places. 

"He  often  looked  over  his  manuscript  before 
preaching,  but  he  frequently  dispensed  with  notes 
in  the  pulpit.  His  voice  was  clear  and  strong,  his 
utterance  easy  and  fluent,  his  manner  very  earnest 
and  animated;  and  when  in  the  full  flow  of  his 
subject,  amid  revival  scenes,  he  was  strikingly  elo- 
quent and  impressive. 
15 


170  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

"  Few  forms  and  faces,  daguerreotyped  so  long  ago 
on  my  mind,  remain  as  distinct  as  his  at  this  day. 
In  person  he  was  about  the  medium  height,  of  mode- 
rately fidl  habit,  with  a  fair  complexion,  very  clear, 
intelligent  blue  eyes,  and  black  hair.  In  disposition, 
he  w^as  remarkably  sociable  and  amiable. 

"As  far  as  I  had  opportunity  to  observe,  and  now 
recall  his  method  in  revivals,  his  first  aim  was  to 
arouse  Christians,  and  elicit  much  fervent  and  per- 
severing prayer.  I  personally  knew  a  circle  that, 
during  the  re\ival  at  Columbia,  on  more  than  one 
occasion,  spent  the  whole  night  in  prayer.  His 
application  of  truth  w^as  very  plain  and  pungent, 
without  being  harsh  and  repulsive.  Every  where  he 
won  many  friends,  but  I  have  no  recollection  of  his 
having  enemies.  He  was  well  aware  that  in  revivals 
some  would  mistake  sympathy  and  excitement  for 
conversion;  and  he  warned  his  hearers  that  expe- 
rience had  led  him  to  expect  that  about  such  a 
portion,  I  think  it  was  a  tenth,  of  professed  converts, 
would  finally  turn  back  from  following  Jesus. 

"  I  have  never  forgotten  him,  and  shall  know  him 
again  in  a  better  world,  where  I  doubt  not  he  has 
received  a  crown  of  righteousness  gemmed  with 
many  stars." 

In  regard  to  the  meeting  in  Walterborough,  a 
gentleman  resident  there  thus  wrote  under  date  of 
October  12th,  1832. 

"  On  last  Thursday,  a  religious  meeting  was  com- 
menced in  this  place  by  ministers  of  various  denomi- 
nations, and  closed  this  day.  You  may  recollect 
that  last  fall  many  individuals  here  were  brought  to 


REY.  DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  171 

a  profession  of  religion  in  consequence  of  a  meeting 
held  by  Presbyterian  ministers.  But  these  were 
comparatively  few.  They  were  enough,  however, 
to  embolden  another  effort,  and  to  encourage  our 
ministers  in  the  belief  that  more  hearing  w^oiild 
produce  more  religion.  Nor  have  they  been  disap- 
pointed. The  result  has  exceeded  the  most  ardent 
hopes  of  the  most  pious,  and  has  carried  amazement 
and  wonder  to  the  irreligious.  On  each  day  the 
interest  in  the  meeting  increased,  and  every  argu- 
ment and  appeal  fell  upon  the  attentive  audience 
with  deeper  and  deeper  solemnity.  The  business  of 
the  town  ceased;  conversation  on  common  topics 
ceased;  and  the  mind  seemed  to  be  driven  in  upon 
itself,  in  the  business  of  strict  and  solemn  self- 
examination.  Monday  and  Tuesday  were  the  days 
of  the  general  election;  yet  the  polls  were  either 
not  attended,  or  the  voters  dropped  their  votes  into 
the  ballot-box  and  went  away.  At  the  close  of  the 
services  the  result  is,  that  between  sixty  and  seventy 
individuals,  nearly  half  of  whom  are  male  adults, 
have  determined  to  pursue  the  walk  of  a  Christian 
life,  and  several  others  appear  deeply  anxious  as  to 
their  religious  situation.  In  fact,  almost  the  whole 
mass  of  the  population  are  now  pious,  as  far  as 
human  discernment  can  extend,  rejoicing  in  the  hope 
of  salvation.  A  complete  revolution  must  be  pro- 
duced in  the  whole  frame  of  this  society,  and  the 
pure  religion  of  Christ  be  its  grand  characteristic. 

"I  know  the  world  will  say — nay,  some  profes- 
sors will  say,  that  this  is  all  'animal  excitement.' 
Without  stopping  to  animadvert  upon  the  phrase 
'  animal  excitement,'   I   would   state   that   the   ser- 


172  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

mens  and  addresses,  to  say  the  least  of  them,  are 
far  stronger  than  any  I  ever  heard  in  the  city  of 
Charleston,  excepting  in  two  instances.  Nor  was 
the  andience  of  such  a  character  that  words  of  mere 
'  sound  and  fury'  w^ould  affect  them.  The  ministers 
were  undoubtedly  earnest,  as  if  they  really  did 
believe  the  doctrines  they  inculcated,  that  the  soul 
of  man  is  immortal;  but  they  did  not  exhibit  more 
earnestness  than  is  common  every  day  at  the  Bar. 
The  truth  appears  to  me  to  be  this :  those  who  are 
brought  to  a  sense  of  the  importance  of  religion  at 
these  meetings  are  no  more  excited  than  those  who 
are  changed  by  the  ordinary  course  of  preaching. 
Nor  are  they  changed  upon  less  reflection,  though  in 
a  shorter  space  of  time.  The  attention  is  arrested 
for  days  together,  and  tliis  is  the  w^hole  secret, 
humanly  speaking,  of  the  success  of  these  continued 
meetings.  Attention,  consideration,  is  all  that  true 
religion  wants ;  and  these  being  withheld,  is,  in  fact, 
the  great  difficulty  which  impedes  its  progress  to 
our  hearts.  Under  ordinary  circumstances,  what  is 
heard  once  or  twice  a  week  is  forgotten  or  drowned 
in  the  cares  of  life  before  the  voice  is  heard  again ; 
but  when  the  whole  scheme  of  our  pure  and  sublime 
religion  is  laid  out  in  some  twenty  or  thirty  ser- 
mons, and  pressed  home  upon  the  mind  day  after 
day,  in  succession,  with  great  faithfulness  and 
abihty,  the  effect  is  almost  inevitable.  The  camp- 
meetings  of  the  Methodists  accomplish  this  object, 
and  their  success  as  a  denomination,  I  am  satisfied, 
is  greatly  attributable  to  this  instrument.  Every 
denomination  should  now  adopt  these  protracted 
meetings.     Their  efhcacy  is  beyond  doubt  or  caviL 


D.  D.  173 

The  seal  of  experience  and  of  God's  approbation  is 
put  upon  them,  in  the  blaze  of  success  which  accom- 
panies them;  and  if  any  one  denomination,  whilst 
others  adopt,  shall  set  its  face  against  them,  it  ^vill 
cease  to  exist  as  a  Christian  Church,  or  will  exist,  a 
very  good  place  for  decent  morality,  but  no  abode 
for  the  gospel  of  Christ.     I  shall  join  the  Church 

of  my   forefathers,    the  Church;    but   if  that 

Church  throws  itself  in  opposition  to  these  meetings, 
which  are  now  bringing  thousands  and  thousands 
into  the  pale  of  Christianity,  I  shall,  without  hesita- 
tion, renounce  it. 

"  By-the-by,  why  do  not  you  Christians  in  Charles- 
ton raise  an  Evangelical  Society  for  the  purpose  of 
supporting  Mr.  Baker  as  a  mere  Evangelist.  All 
denominations  should  unite  in  such  a  society,  for  he 
has,  indeed,  like  his  great  prototype,  known  nothing 
amongst  us  save  'Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified.' 
His  labours  benefit  all  denominations  equally,  and 
why  should  not  the  whole  Church  take  upon  them- 
selves the  duty  of  his  support.  Cannot  every  pew 
and  bench  in  the  State  pay  one  dollar  to  his  support, 
whilst  he  is  going  abroad  carrying  the  light  and 
liberty  of  the  gospel  over  the  land.  We  here,  of  all 
denominations,  will  freely  support  any  scheme  which 
will  afford  him  a  certain  and  ample  competency. 
"We  must  not  let  him  leave  the  State.  I  mean  not 
to  undervalue  other  societies  for  the  promotion  of 
Christianity,  but  I  do  say,  that  to  any  one  who  has 
witnessed  the  effect  of  his  preaching,  the  utility  of 
all  your  other  societies  put  together  will  scarcely 
equal  the  labours  of  this  single  man." 
15* 


174  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

A  gentleman,  at  that  time  a  lawyer,  resident  in 
Walterboro',  after  speaking  of  the  revival  in  Beau- 
fort, thus  proceeds,  under  date  of  Feb.  12th,  1858. 
His  remarks  illustrate  the  indirect  influence  of  the 
labours  of  Mr.  Baker,  as  well  as  the  direct.  So 
much  is  introduced  in  regard  to  this  pf.riod,  because 
it  is  all  explanatory  and  illustrative  of  his  labours 
both  before  and  after. 

"At  this  time,  E-ev.  Edward  Palmer,  pastor  to  the 
Presbyterian  church,  returning  from  one  of  Mr. 
Baker's  meetings  in  Beaufort  District,  gave  to  his 
congregation  a  detailed  account  of  what  he  had  seen, 
and,  with  his  heart  burning  with  zeal,  appointed  a 
protracted  meeting  to  be  held  in  his  church  a  few 
days  thereafter.  He  had  caught  new  fire  at  the 
altars  where  he  had  been  labouring  with  Mr.  Baker, 
and  imparted  some  of  it  to  a  portion  of  his  own  little 
flock,  and,  when  the  protracted  meeting  took  place, 
although  Mr.  Baker  was  not  present,  God's  Spirit 
was  there;  and,  as  the  result  of  this  meeting,  a  con- 
siderable number  was  received  into  both  the  Pres- 
byterian and  Episcopal  churches,  giving  to  both  a 
vitality  and  strength  never  known  before  to  them. 
This,  I  repeat,  so  far  as  human  agency  was  con- 
cerned, was  the  indirect  result  of  Mr.  Baker's 
labours. 

"  The  pastor  of  the  Episcopal  church  at  that  time, 
although  he  had  received  into  his  communion  as  the 
result  of  that  protracted  meeting,  if  not  larger  num- 
bers, more  active  and  efficient  piety  than  it  before 
possessed,  was,  nevertheless  opposed  to  these  meet- 
ings. Not  so,  however,  were  those  who  had  recently 
joined  his  communion.    They  laboured  hard  to  bring 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  175 

him  to  their  views,  and  great  was  their  surprise, 
when,  in  the  summer  of  1833,  the  Presbyterians 
were  on  the  eve  of  holding  another  protracted  meet- 
ing, he  announced  his  willingness  to  have  a  union 
meeting,  provided  the  services  should  be  one-half  of 
the  time  in  his  o^vn  church.  All  parties  cheerfully 
consented  to  this  arrangement.  The  recent  Episco- 
pal converts  promptly  sent  for  Mr.  Walker  and  Mr. 
Young,  of  Beaufort  District,  Episcopal  clergymen, 
who  had  there  zealously  co-operated  with  Mr.  Baker, 
who,  surprised  and  rejoiced  that  'Saul  was  among 
the  prophets,'  laid  aside  every  thing  else,  and  re- 
paired to  Walterboro'  to  take  part  in  this  union 
meeting. 

"  The  meeting  commenced  under  favourable  auspices 
and  continued  for  ten  days.  On  the  evening  of  the 
second  or  third  day,  one  of  the  Episcopal  ministers, 
at  the  close  of  the  sermon  in  the  Presbyterian  church, 
when  the  house  was  filled  to  ovei-flowing,  announced 
his  former  opposition  to  what  he  was  about  to  do,  his 
conviction  that  he  had  been  in  eiTor,  and  closed  with 
a  solemn  invitation  to  all  who  felt  an  interest  in  their 
soul's  salvation  to  kneel  before  the  pulpit,  when  the 
people  of  God  would  unite  in  prayer  on  their  behalf 
No  appeals  were  made,  no  effort  to  operate  on  their 
fears  or  their  sympathies;  but  almost  the  entire  im- 
penitent portion  of  the  large  audience  came  forward. 
Ariiong  these  was  a  large  portion  of  the  leading  men 
of  the  place.  It  was  a  scene  seldom  witnessed  in  this 
heedless  world;  one  over  which  angels  in  heaven  as 
well  as  saints  on  earth  rejoiced.  The  day  after  this 
scene,  Mr.  Baker  arrived.  All  had  heard  of  him, 
and  all  went  out  to  see  and  hear  him.     For  several 


176  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

successive  days  he  preached,  sometimes  twice  a  day. 
For  the  most  part,  his  sermons  were  those  known 
as  his  Keyival  Sermons,  which  have  since  been 
published.  They  were  delivered  with  great  sim- 
plicity and  power,  but  with  an  unction  that  seemed 
to  impress  his  hearers  with  the  conviction  that  really 
he  was  an  ambassador  from  heaven,  and  spoke  '  the 
words  of  truth  and  soberness.'  I  saw  the  aged  sin- 
ner, who  in  his  worldliness  and  licentiousness  had 
scarcely  ever  thought  of  God  but  to  blaspheme  his 
name,  tremble  under  the  power  of  his  voice,  and  look 
as  though  his  future  doom  was  shadowed  before  him. 
I  have  heard  many  of  the  most  eloquent  men  of  our 
country  in  the  x^ulpit,  but  I  have  never  heard  one 
who,  to  the  same  extent,  could  rivet  the  attention  of 
the  sinner,  draw  him  insensibly  to  the  conclusion  that 
he  was  'a  fool — a  consummate  fool;'  harrow  up  his 
soul,  force  him  to  think,  and  lead  him  to  pray.  It 
was  not  the  power  of  eloquence  in  Mr.  Baker  that 
accomplished  these  results,  for  he  was  not  what  the 
world  terms  an  eloquent  man,  but  it  was,  as  I  be- 
lieve, that  unction  from  on  high,  which,  reflected 
from  his  heart  on  his  countenance  and  manner,  fas- 
tened on  the  hearer  the  conviction  that  he  was  in 
truth  God's  ambassador.  In  illustration  of  what  I 
mean,  I  will  state  a  fact.  At  one  of  his  meetings  in 
Beaufort  District,  when  the  whole  community  was 
in  a  high  state  of  excitement,  a  friend  of  mine,  in 
middle  life,  an  irreligious  man,  determined,  near  the 
close  of  one  of  his  services,  to  go  to  the  door  of  the 
church  to  see  this  wonderful  man.  Taking  with  him 
some  others,  influenced  by  similar  curiosity,  he  went ; 
and  when  they  reached  the  door  of  the  church,  Mr. 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  177 

Baker  was  praying.  My  friend  told  me,  that  for  a 
few  moments  he  listened,  and  whispered  to  his  asso- 
ciates, 'That  man  prays  as  though  he  were  really 
talking  with  God.'  The  more  he  Hstened,  the  more 
the  conviction  was  fastened  on  his  mind.  He  went 
to  scoif,  but  remained,  as  did  some  of  his  associates, 
to  pray.  That  prayer  led  to  his  conviction,  and,  as 
he  trusted  to  his  conversion. 

"Many  incidents  of  similar  character  might  be 
told,  going  to  show  that  for  his  power  he  was  largely 
indebted  to  the  unction  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Another 
incident  I  remember.  When  at  Walterboro',  there 
was  a  little  band  of  sceptics  or  infidels  residing  there, 
who,  seeing  their  friends  passing  into  the  kingdom, 
were  more  perturbed  than  they  were  mlling  to 
admit.  One  of  them,  a  gentleman  of  intelligence  and 
high  respectability,  remarked  to  me,  that  Mr.  Baker, 
in  his  preaching  had  begun  at  the  ^vrong  end;  that 
he  ought  first  to  have  proved  the  Bible  true;  and 
requested  me  to  ask  him  to  preach  on  that  subject. 
1  told  him  I  would,  and  advised  him  to  bring  to  the 
church  that  night  all  who  thought  as  he  did.  In 
the  course  of  the  day  I  stated  the  case  to  Mr.  Baker. 
He  hesitated — gave  no  answer  other  than  to  say, 
'The  Lord  direct.'  At  night  the  'little  band'  were 
at  the  church.  The  text  was  given  out,  and  it  was 
manifest  the  sceptics  would  not  get  their  portion; 
but  after  he  had  proceeded  in  his  discourse  for  a  few 
minutes,  he  was  interrupted  by  the  fainting  of  a  lady. 
The  confusion  having  ceased,  he  announced  that  per- 
haps he  was  not  in  the  line  of  liis  duty;  stated  the 
request  made  of  him;  gave  out  a  new  text,  and 
preached  a  sermon  on  the  evidences  of  Christianity. 


178  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

The  discourse  did  not  equal  in  manner  or  argument 
his  usual  efforts;  there  was  nothing  said  that  his 
sceptical  hearers  had  not  often  read ;  yet  my  sceptical 
friend  told  me  the  next  day,  '  Mr.  Baker  is  a  wonder- 
ful man — had  removed  all  his  doubts;'  and  added, 
'  If  you  had  asked  me,  I  would  have  gone  up  to  be 
prayed  for.'  What  but  the  unction  to  which  I  have 
referred,  under  God,  accomplished  this  result  1 

"  Mr.  Baker  was  a  man  of  great  simplicity  of  cha- 
racter, as  well  as  of  unwavering  faith  and  ardent  zeal. 
At  the  time  to  which  I  refer,  he  acted  as  though  he 
felt,  in  the  inmost  recesses  of  his  heart,  that  he  was 
an  evangelist,  an  apostle,  sent  forth  with  the  commis- 
sion of  his  Master;  and  that  the  injunctions  resting 
on  the  early  disciples  were  the  only  rules  of  his  con- 
duct. When  he  first  reached  W^alterboro'  he  took 
up  his  abode  with  the  pastor.  I  urged  him  to  change 
his  residence — his  prompt  reply  was,  and  expressed 
as  though  he  meant  literally  what  he  said,  The 
Master  says,  '  Whatsoever  house  ye  enter  into,  there 
abide,  and  thence  depart.' 

"  But  what  I  regard  as  the  crowning  glory  of  Mr. 
Baker's  life,  is  the  new  phase  which  some  of  the 
churches  of  South  Carolina,  (and  I  may  say  Georgia 
too,)  through  his  instrumentality,  were  made  to 
present.  At  the  time  he  was  labouring  in  Beaufort, 
with  the  exception  of  the  church  at  that  place,  these 
churches  were  nearly  all,  in  the  language  of  one  of 
their  eminent  laymen,  'little  better  than  masonic 
lodges.'  They  had  the  form  of  godliness,  but  were 
destitute  of  its  power.  The  frequenters  of  the  race- 
course and  the  theatre  found  their  places  at  the 
communion-table.     The  duellist  was  not  excluded. 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  179 

Through  the  instrumentality  of  Mr.  Baker's  preach- 
ing, W.  B.,  two  of  the  E's,  and  some  others,  aban- 
doned the  bar  and  other  pursuits,  and  entered  upon 
the  ministry  in  the  Episcopal  Church,  carrying 
with  them  into  it  the  views  and  feelings  they  had 
received  under  their  religious  instructors  at  Beaufort. 
Through  the  same  instrumentality,  R.  B.  E,.  had 
united  with  the  Episcopal  church  at  Walterboro'; 
and  removing  shortly  after  to  Charleston,  he  endea- 
voured there,  among  his  Episcopal  brethren,  to  rally 
together  those  whose  views  and  feelings  coincided 
with  his  own  and  those  he  had  left  behind  him.  He 
tried,  as  he  told  me,  to  get  up  a  weekly  prayer- 
meeting,  such  as  he  left  at  Walterboro',  composed  of 
male  members  of  the  Episcopal  church ;  but  the  pro- 
ject failed.  In  his  zeal,  and  his  untiring  perseverance 
in  whatever  he  undertakes,  he  persuaded  his  cousin, 
W.  B.,  then  inducted  into  the  sacred  office,  to  remove 
to  Charleston.  He,  with  some  others,  principally 
ladies,  secured  a  chapel,  in  which  Mr.  B.  should 
preach;  and  the  young,  but  gifted  and  lamented 
Cobia,  a  man  of  kindred  spirit,  coming  to  his  aid,  in 
that  little  and  retired  chapel  they  laboured  until  the 
large  church  of  St.  Peter's  was  built  for  Mr.  B.,  and 
these  faithful  ministers  of  the  cross  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  seeing,  in  nearly  all  the  churches  of  the  city, 
assistant  ministers  employed,  whose  spirit  and  senti- 
ments corresponded  with  their  own.  That  party, 
the  evangelical  party,  has  now  the  ascendency  in  the 
diocese  of  South  Carolina.  The  same  party  has  the 
ascendency  in  the  diocese  of  Georgia,  its  chosen 
leader,  Bishop  Elliott,  acknowledging  Mr.  Baker  as 
his  spiritual  father." 


180  LIFE  AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

Narrative  continued. 

My  preaching  for  the  first  two  years  after  leaving 
Savannah,  may,  I  think,  be  put  down  at  two  sermons 
a  day  for  every  day  in  the  year.  The  number  of 
those  hopefully  converted  under  my  preaching,  I 
suppose  may  be  about  two  thousand  Rve  hundred. 
To  God  be  all  the  glory!  It  was  usual  with  me, 
during  protracted  meetings,  to  preach  three  times  a 
day.  Besides  this,  it  was  common  to  deliver  ad- 
dresses to  various  classes  of  persons,  such  as  profes- 
sors of  religion,  mothers,  young  men,  young  ladies, 
children,  &c.  In  doing  this,  my  usual  plan  was  to 
come  down  out  of  the  pulpit,  and  have  the  particular 
class  of  persons  to  be  addressed  gathered  together 
immediately  before  me.  Sometimes  I  woidd  have 
one  meeting,  during  the  occasion,  exclusively  for  the 
unconverted;  Christians  being  in  some  other  place 
at  the  same  time,  engaged  in  special  prayer  for  those 
at  the  meeting  for  the  unconverted.  Sunrise  prayer- 
meetings  were  also  sometimes  held.  Occasionally, 
when  deemed  prudent,  I  would  invite  the  awakened 
forward  to  certain  seats,  to  be  particularly  addressed 
and  prayed  for ;  but  inquiry  meetings  were  with  me 
much  more  common. 

During  this  two  years'  term  of  missionary  labour, 
my  health  was  uniformly  good ;  my  voice  also  was 
strong,  but  generally  somewhat  hoarse.  On  one 
occasion  my  voice  suddenly  failed;  from  being  pretty 
loud,  though  hoarse,  just  as  I  was  closing  a  sermon 
in  the  afternoon,  in  one  moment  of  time  it  fell  to  a 
whisper.  I  confess  I  was  alarmed,  and  did  not  wish 
to  preach,  or  even  attempt  it ;  but  the  thing  could 
not  very  well  be  avoided.     I  did  preach,  and  no  evil 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  181 

consequences  ensued.  It  is  true,  my  friends  were 
wont,  frequently  and  kindly,  to  warn  me  of  preach- 
ing so  incessantly;  but  as  frequently  the  converts 
averaged  one  or  more  for  every  sermon,  I  determined 
to  go  on  as  long  as  my  Master  was  with  me,  blessing 
and  sustaining  me. 

The  failure  of  voice  spoken  of,  was  the  only  case 
of  the  kind  he  ever  experienced.  How  often  is  it 
the  case  that  ministers,  especially  those  of  an  ardent 
temperament,  or  preaching  during  a  revival,  preach 
in  an  unnatural  key,  and  with  an  unnecessary  force 
of  voice.  This  greatly  lessens  the  effect  of  what  they 
say  on  an  audience,  and  exhausts,  and  permanently 
affects  the  organs  of  speech.  Those  who  have  heard 
Dr.  Baker,  will  remember  that  he  always  spoke  on  a 
perfectly  natural  key  and  easy  pitch  of  voice.  In  con- 
sequence, speaking  was  no  weariness  to  him  whatever. 
He  knew  nothing  of  throat  disease,  though  preach- 
ing incessantly,  and  often  in  the  open  air.  In  fact, 
his  preaching  was  an  exercise  which  developed  and 
confirmed  his  constitution — in  it  was  his  highest 
physical  enjoyment.  In  his  perfectly  natural  man- 
ner of  speaking,  too,  lay  a  great  part  of  his  power 
over  his  audience.  There  was  no  measured  cadence, 
no  pulpit  tone.  His  manner  in  the  pulpit  was  as 
natural  and  easy  as  in  the  parlour.  He  stood  in  the 
pulpit  as  one  who  had  something  important  to  say; 
but  he  saw  no  reason  why  his  manner  in  speaking 
to  two  or  three  thousand  persons  at  once,  should 
differ  from  his  manner  in  speaking  to  two  or  three 
persons,  or  even  to  a  single  person,  so  that  he  made 
16 


182  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

himself  heard.  He  was  too  much  in  earnest  to  de- 
claim. His  effort  was  to  present  divine  truth  with 
transparent  clearness,  and  let  that  truth  w^ork  its 
own  results.  In  a  discourse,  his  voice  and  manner 
ran  through  a  wide  range — statement  of  subject, 
reasoning,  solemn  denunciation,  tearful  entreaty — 
but  in  all  he  was  natural,  perfectly  so;  it  was  only  a 
man  conversing  with  his  friends  most  earnestly  in 
regard  to  their  soul's  salvation. 

Take  the  following,  the  first  illustration  that 
comes  to  mind,  of  the  simple  mode  by  which  he 
would  impress  an  important  truth  on  his  hearers. 
He  is  warning  against  putting  off  the  salvation  of 
the  soul  from  day  to  day.  Imagine  the  words,  deli- 
vered from  the  speaker's  Hps  in  the  pulpit,  according 
to  the  manner  just  mentioned. 

"One  day  the  minister  heard  that  his  neighbour 
was  sick,  very  sick.  What  if  he  dies  in  his  present 
state "?  thought  the  minister.  He  is  an  amiable 
man,  a  generous  man,  in  many  points  of  character  a 
most  excellent  man;  but,  by  his  own  confession,  he 
is  no  Christian,  has  never  felt  the  power  of  God's 
converting  grace  upon  his  soul.  Suppose  he  should 
die  in  his  present  condition!  I  must  go  and  see 
him.  Accordingly,  taking  his  hat  and  cane,  he  calls 
to  see  him.  He  knocks  at  the  door;  a  servant 
opens  it. 

"'HowisMr.  K.r 

"  'Very  sick,  sir;  please  to  walk  in.' 

"  The  minister,  led  by  the  servant,  enters  the 
chamber.  The  curtains  are  down.  The  room  is 
darkened,  and  on  the  bed  there  Hes  his  neighbour, 
scorched  by  a  raging  fever.     Taking  him  kindly  by 


REY.    DANIEL  BAKER,   D.  D.  183 

the  hand — 'How  do  you  feel  yourself  this  morning'?' 
says  the  minister. 

" '  Very  sick,  sir,'  replied  the  neighbour. 

"  After  a  while,  the  minister,  in  a  subdued  tone  of 
voice,  says,  'Do  you  think,  my  dear  sir,  that  you 
have  made  your  peace  with  God"?  Should  God  see 
proper  now  to  take  you  away,  are  you  ready  to  go "?' 

" '  O,  sir,'  says  the  sick  man,  interrupting  him,  '  I 
am  in  agony.  Please  to  excuse  me.  O,  my  head, 
my  head!  I  cannot  talk  to  you  now.  Please  to 
call  again.' 

"'When  shall  I  call r 

"  '  To-morrow^^  says  the  sick  man. 

"The  faithful  man  of  God  bursts  into  tears,  and 
retires.  The  next  day  he  calls  again.  The  knocker 
is  muffled — a  bad  sign.  Knocking  gently  at  the 
door,  the  servant  opens  it. 

"'How  is  Mr.  K.r 

"  'No  better,  sir.     Please  to  walk  in.' 

"  The  minister  enters  the  chamber,  and  there  is 
his  neighbour,  still  upon  a  bed  of  sickness.  'My 
dear  neighbour,'  says  the  minister,  '  how  do  you  do 
this  morning r  There  is  no  response.  The  man  is 
delirious  now,  and  speaks  in  broken  sentences,  inco- 
herently. The  minister,  leaning  upon  the  top  of  his 
cane,  looks  at  his  neighbour,  and  the  silent  tear 
trickles  down  his  cheek.  He  is  about  to  rise  up 
and  go  away,  but  the  wife  of  the  sick  man  exclaims, 

" '  O,  my  dear  pastor,  won't  you  pray  for  my 
husband  V 

"  The  prayer  is  offered,  and  the  minister,  taking 
the  hand  of  his  neighbour,  says,  'My  dear  friend, 
good-bye.'     Still  there  is  no   response.     Alas!  the 


184  LIFE  AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

sick  man  knows  not  that  his  wife  is  weeping  at  his 
bedside,  and  that  his  pastor  has  been  praying  for 
him.  As  the  man  of  God  is  retiring,  the  affec- 
tionate wife  follows  him  to  the  door,  and,  in  parting, 
says, 

"'My  dear  pastor,  I  am  in  great  affliction;  will 
you  not  be  so  kind  as  to  call  again]' 

"'Madam,'  says  he,  'when  do  you  think  I  had 
better  come'?'  and  she  says,  '  To-morrow.'' 

"  The  associations  are  more  than  he  can  bear,  and 
the  man  of  God  goes  weeping  all  the  way,  returning 
home.  The  next  morning  he  calls  again.  The 
knocker  is  still  muffled.  He  taps  gently  at  the 
door.     The  servant  opens  it. 

'"How  is  Mr.  K.r 

" '  He  is  said  to  be  worse,  sir.' 

" '  I  would  like  to  see  him.' 

'"You  can't,  sir.  The  doctor  has  just  left,  and 
he  has  given  the  strictest  orders  that  nobody  should 
enter  the  room  except  those  who  are  waiting  upon 
him.     But  here  is  Mrs.  K.' 

"  'Madam,  how  is  your  husband  1' 

" '  O,  my  dear  pastor,'  replies  she,  '  he  is  worse,  I 
fear  much  worse !' 

" '  I  would  like  to  see  your  husband,  madam,  a 
few  moments.' 

" '  I  would  be  glad  to  have  you  see  him,  too,' 
replies  the  afflicted  woman ;  '  but  our  physician  says 
that  the  crisis  has  come,  and  that  the  slightest 
excitement  may  prove  fatal;  but  he  said  that  if  his 
patient  revived,  he  might  be  able  to  see  you 
to-morrow.'' 

"Having  received   a   message,   about   the   going 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  185- 

down  of  the  sun,  that  his  neighbour  was  still  in  a 
critical  state,  and  too  weak  to  be  seen,  the  minister 
can  scarcely  sleep  that  night,  so  anxious  is  he  about 
the  salvation  of  his  neighbour.  The  next  morning, 
taking  his  hat  and  cane,  he  goes  early,  at  least  to 
make  some  inquiry.  Tapping  again  gently  at  the 
door,  the  servant  opens  it. 

" '  How  is  Mr.  K.  V  is  the  anxious  inquiry. 
"  '  O,  sir,'  replies  the  servant,  '  he  is  dead !' 
"'Dead!'  exclaims  the  minister — 'Dead!' 
"  '  Yes,  sir ;  he  died  this  morning,  at  four  o'clock.' 
" '  God  have  mercy — '  the  minister  was  about  to 
say;  but  it  flashed  upon  him,  it  is  too  late  now. 

"  Dear,  procrastinating  sinner,  it  is  enough.  I  be- 
seech you  do  not  say.  To-morrow,  any  more.  To-mor- 
row! It  may  be  too  late  for  ever.  To-morrow's  sun 
may  shine  upon  your  grave !  Once  lost,  you  are  lost 
for  ever !     Be  wise  to-day,  'tis  madness  to  defer." 

Being  colloquial,  and  thus  entirely  at  his  ease  in 
the  pulpit,  there  was  little  danger  of  becoming  em- 
barrassed by  any  untoward  circumstance.  Only  on 
one  occasion  in  his  life  was  he  thrown  out.  In  the 
midst  of  a  certain  discourse,  a  lady  of  immense  size 
entered  the  church,  and  advanced  down  the  aisle. 
He  paused,  endeavoured  to  resume  the  thread  of  his 
sermon,  requested  a  certain  hymn  to  be  sung,  then 
rose  again  from  the  seat  he  had  taken,  and  went  on 
as  if  nothing  had  happened.  He  never  hesitated,  in 
the  midst  of  a  sermon,  to  rebuke  any  disorder.  If 
any  outcry,  the  result  of  religious  emotion,  was 
made,  he  would  pause,  and  say  in  a  solemn  manner, 
"The  Lord  is  in  his  holy  temple,  let  all  the  earth 
keep  silence  before  him:"  a  course  which  never 
16* 


186  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

failed  to  still  even  the  most  excited.  He  could  bear 
a  babe  crying  in  the  congregation,  but  misconduct 
on  the  part  of  one  old  enough  to  know  better,  he 
would  never  permit.  On  one  occasion,  after  once  or 
twice  rebuking  a  rude  boy,  he  said  at  last,  "  Little 
boy,  go  home,  and  tell  your  mother  you  deserve  a 
good  whipping;"  and,  as  the  boy  went  out  with  his 
singular  message,  the  speaker  continued  his  dis- 
course. When  preaching  in  a  certain  college,  which 
had  been  under  infidel  influence,  the  students  in  the 
gallery  purposely  disturbed  him  by  audible  conversa- 
tion. Pausing,  and  addressing  himself  to  them,  he 
said,  with  the  utmost  solemnity,  "  Young  men,  at  the 
bar  of  God,  in  judgment,  you  wiU  answer  for  your 
conduct  this  day."  He  then  resumed  his  discourse, 
without  further  interruption.  On  another  occasion, 
in  the  midst  of  his  sermon,  he  spoke  of  the  infidel. 
A  gentleman  in  the  congregation  suddenly  spoke 
out,  "And  pray,  sir,  what  is  an  infidel]"  Without  a 
moment's  hesitation,  the  speaker  replied,  "  I  will  tell 
you,  sir,  first,  what  an  infidel  is,  and  secondly,  what 
is  the  doom  of  the  infidel,  unless  he  repent,  and 
accept  Christ" — and  abandoning  the  previous  ser- 
mon altogether,  he  preached  upon  this  impromptu 
subject  most  eficctively.  At  the  close  of  the  dis- 
course, the  gentleman  came  forward,  explained  that 
he  had  spoken  out  impulsively  and  unintentionally, 
and  thanked  him  heartily  for  the  extempore  sermon 
which  had  resulted. 

His  style  may  be  described  in  one  word — it  was 
colloquial.  Although  avoiding  every  thing  unbe- 
coming so  sacred  a  place,  he  used  anecdote  and  illus- 
tration very  freely;  at  times  causing  even  a  smile, 


RET.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  187 

which  would  soon  give  way,  however,  to  tears.  He 
was  thus  colloquial  in  preaching,  because  he  was  too 
much  occupied  with  his  message  to  think  for  an 
instant  of  the  manner  in  which  he  Avas  delivering  it. 

The  narrative  continues: 

With  regard  to  pecuniary  matters,  I  was  in  the 
employment  of  no  society ;  of  course,  I  had  no  fixed 
income.  My  rule  was,  to  say  nothing  about  the 
matter,  but  to  trust  Providence.  In  some  places,  I 
did  not  receive  a  single  cent,  even  when  my  labours 
were  greatly  blessed;  in  other  places,  more  was 
given  to  me  than  I  could  conscientiously  accept. 
On  one  occasion  I  returned  about  thirty  dollars ;  on 
another,  I  returned  one  hundred  dollars.  Sometimes 
my  friends,  in  making  up  a  purse  for  me,  would 
greatly  add  to  the  value  of  the  gift  by  the  happy 
manner  in  which  it  was  done.  I  may  here  mention 
a  case.  Upon  closing  a  protracted  meeting  in  St. 
Mary's,  a  gentleman,  (not  a  professor,)  told  me  that 
his  house  was  on  my  road  to  Tallahassee,  whither  I 
was  going,  and  very  politely  invited  me  to  spend  the 
first  night  with  him.  '  I  did  so.  The  next  morn- 
ing he  said  he  would  accompany  me  a  few  miles  to 
show  me  the  way.  I  was  in  my  gig,  with  my 
youngest  son,  W.,  and  my  kind  friend  riding  on 
horseback  at  my  side.  After  accompanying  me  on 
the  way  some  four  or  five  miles,  he  remarked,  "I  be- 
lieve the  way  is  plain,  and  you  will  have  no  difficulty 
now."  Saying  this,  he  handed  me  a  sealed  letter, 
politely  requesting  me  to  take  charge  of  it,  and 
bidding  me  good-by,  he  turned  his  face  homeward; 
and,  putting  his  horse  into  a  gallop,  away  he  went, 
and  in  a  moment  was  out  of  sight.     Looking  at  the 


188  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

letter  with  which  I  was  charged,  to  my  surprise  I 
found  that  it  was  addressed  to  myself.  On  open- 
ing it,  I  found  inclosed,  in  current  back  notes, 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars!  The  whole 
amount  of  free-will  offerings  which  I  received  during 
these  two  years,  amounted  very  nearly  to  what  I 
would  have  received  had  I  continued  pastor  of  the 
Independent  Presbyterian  Church  in  Savannah — say, 
two  thousand  dollars  per  annum.  O,  how  bountifully 
did  the  Lord  provide  for  me ! 

It  may  be  remarked  here,  that  Dr.  Baker's  ideas 
in  regard  to  money  matters  were  characteristic  of  the 
man.  He  never  incurred  a  debt  when  he  could  avoid 
it,  and  was  prompt  in  settling  his  accounts  to  an 
instant  and  to  a  cent.  Or  if  this  vvas  out  of  his 
power,  when  he  did  receive  money,  he  would  distri- 
bute it  among  his  creditors  as  far  as  it  went,  reserv- 
ing nothing.  In  fact,  a  debt  burned  upon  him  like 
a  fever,  and  he  was  never  at  ease  until  it  was  paid, 
esteeming  the  paying  of  his  debts  the  greatest  luxury 
that  his  money  could  obtain.  •  In  his  travels  he  was 
careful  to  reward  servants  liberally  for  their  little 
attentions;  and  he  took  a  special  pleasure  in  making 
presents  to  children.  It  was  usual,  in  the  earlier 
days  of  his  ministry,  for  ministers  to  receive  fees  for 
burial  and  baptismal  services;  but  these  he  invaria- 
bly refused  to  accept.  He  never  hesitated  to  return 
part  of  a  wedding  fee,  if  he  thought  it  more  than 
the  bridegroom  could  afford  to  pay.  Only  once  he 
attempted  a  speculation — it  was  in  western  lands — 
and  the  result  of  that  disgusted  him  for  ever  with 
such  things.     In  piu'chasing  a  horse,  the  writer  has 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  189 

known  him  to  remonstrate  with  the  seller — "But 
really,  sir,  do  you  not  think  I  ought  to  give  you 
more'?"  Having  sold  a  horse  to  an  elder,  the  animal 
died  several  months  after,  when  he  could  hardly  be 
dissuaded  by  the  elder  from  refunding  the  money. 

When  the  Cherokee  lands  in  Georgia  were  distri- 
buted among  the  citizens  of  the  State,  gold  mines 
were  supposed  to  exist  in  some  of  them;  believing 
the  Indians  to  be  defrauded  out  of  their  property,  he 
refused  to  partake  in  the  matter.  In  the  case  of  two 
of  his  pastoral  charges,  thinking  his  salary  to  be  too 
large,  he  declined  receiving  more  than  a  certain 
part  of  it.  It  may  be  that  he  ran  to  an  extreme  in 
such  matters.  Apart  from  any  duty  binding  upon 
one  to  lay  up  of  his  income  for  old  age,  there  are 
many  benevolent  causes  upon  which  any  superfluous 
revenue  can  very  usefully  be  spent.  It  need  scarce 
be  added,  that  he  contributed  to  all  deserving  objects, 
up  to,  and  even  beyond  his  means.  A  widow  applied 
to  him  in  her  distress  for  ten  dollars;  he  hesitated 
for  a  moment,  and  then  enclosed  twenty  in  a  note  to 
her,  knowing  her  great  necessity.  It  was  ten  doUars 
more  than  he  could  afford;  and  he  considered  it  a 
marked  providence  when,  on  going  to  the  office  to 
mail  the  note,  he  took  from  his  box  an  anonymous 
letter  to  himself,  containing  just  ten  dollars,  as  a 
donation.  The  prayer  of  Agur  was  his  prayer,  and 
it  was  answered — to  the  day  of  his  death  he  knew 
"  neither  poverty  nor  riches." 

The  autobiography  proceeds: 

When  I  resigned  my  charge  in  Savannah,  I  ex- 
pected to  ride  as  a  missionary  about  six  months,  and 


190  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

then  go  to  Ohio,  and  there  seek  a  permanent  settle- 
ment; and,  lo!  the  time  had  been  extended  to  two 
years. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

LABOURS    IN     OHIO PASTORATE    IN    FRANKFORT   AND 

TUSCALOOSA. 

There  lies  before  the  compiler  of  this  volume  a  mass 
of  information  in  regard  to  the  many  meetings  in 
various  parts  of  the  Union  at  which  the  subject  of 
this  Memoir  was  present;  but  it  would  swell  the 
volume  beyond  all  compass  to  insert  all  the  par- 
ticulars of  each  meeting,  nor  is  it  necessary.  The 
course  of  Mr.  Baker,  in  every  case,  was  very 
much  the  same.  He  never  preached  where  there 
was  a  pastor  settled,  except  on  invitation  of  that 
pastor,  and  then  scrupulously  under  the  pastor's 
wishes,  advice,  and  co-operation.  He  would  arrive 
in  a  place,  say  on  Saturday  evening.  On  Sabbath 
morning  he  would  accompany  the  pastor  to  the 
Sabbath-school,  and,  if  invited,  would  address  the 
children.  He  would  then  preach,  if  invited,  morn- 
ing, afternoon,  and  night.  If  the  interest  manifested 
seemed  to  justify  it,  he  would  permit  the  pastor  to 
give  notice  of  other  meetings  on  Monday ;  and  would 
endeavour  not  to  outrun,  but  to  follow,  in  this  way, 
the  indications  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  At  the  outset 
of  a  protracted  meeting,  he  would  endeavour,  by 
clear,  convincing  presentation  of  divine  truth,  to 
interest  and  arouse  both  saint  and  sinner.    He  would 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  191 

then  endeavour  to  engage  the  officers  and  other 
members  of  the  church  in  special  prayer,  and  active 
effort  for  the  conversion  of  their  sons  and  daughters, 
brothers  and  sisters,  husbands  and  wives,  relatives 
outside  of  their  families,  and  other  friends.  If  there 
was  any  special  sin  prevailing  in  the  church,  or  if 
there  were  dissensions,  he  would  aim,  although  in  a 
very  delicate  and  prudent  manner,  to  remove  these 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  desired  blessing.  The 
reader  of  his  published  Revival  Sermons,  with  the 
Appendix  contained  in  each  volume,  can  judge 
somewhat  both  of  the  manner,  and  of  some  of  the 
more  marked  results  of  his  preachig.  But  the  com- 
manding form;  the  eye,  now  penetrating,  now  tear- 
ful; the  expressive  gesture;  the  tone  of  voice;  the 
earnestness,  sincerity,  and  manifest  anointing  of  the 
Holy  Ghost — these  are  absent  from  the  volumes,  and 
live  only  in  the  memory  of  the  multitudes  of  those 
who  heard  him. 

An  eminent  minister,  on  hearing  of  the  death  of 
Dr.  Baker,  writes: 

"No  man  of  our  day  was  perhaps  more  extensively 
known  than  Dr.  Baker;  no  minister  of  our  denomi- 
nation, certainly,  has  preached  the  gospel  so  often, 
and  in  so  many  different  places,  or  has  been  instru- 
mental in  adding  an  equal  number  of  persons  to  the 
church.  Beyond  any  man  we  have  ever  known,  he 
had  the  capacity  for  enduring  labour  without  weari- 
ness or  respite,  and  his  devotion  to  his  work  was 
intense  and  unremitted.  He  loved  to  preach  the 
gospel  of  Christ;  and  no  matter  where  or  under 
what   circumstances — in  the  great   congregation  or 


192  LIFE    AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

the  small;  in  the  magnificent  church  of  the  city;  in 
the  log  school-house,  or  under  the  brush  arbour  of 
the  frontier;  in  the  court-house,  the  tavern,  or  the 
private  dwelling.  If  the  opportunity  was  given,  or 
could  be  made,  he  preached  that  gospel  with  the 
same  fervour,  the  same  conviction  of  its  value,  and 
the  same  confidence  in  its  success.  It  was  a  rare 
thing  in  the  history  of  his  labours,  for  nearly  thirty 
years  past,  that  he  visited  any  place,  although  the 
greater  part  of  that  period  has  been  spent  in  what 
may  be  called  the  missionary  work,  where  he  was 
not  permitted  to  witness  the  immediate  fruits  of  his 
preaching  in  the  professed  conversion  of  sinners.  He 
preached  for  results  of  this  character — ^he  expected 
them,  and  he  saw  them.  His  faith  was  strong.  It 
did  honour  to  the  gospel,  and  God  honoured  it." 

Mr.  Baker  continues  his  narrative  as  follows: 
At  the  expiration  of  this  period,  I  gathered  up 
my  family,  and  set  out  in  good  earnest  for  Ohio.  I 
think  it  was  in  May.  One  gig,  and  a  barouche, 
contained  my  family  and  baggage;  my  two  sons,  D. 
and  W.,  riding,  in  turn,  a  little  pony.  Without  any 
serious  accident,  we  travelled  in  this  w^ay  (stopping, 
of  course,  on  the  way  every  Sabbath)  until  we  came, 
on  one  Friday  afternoon,  within  about  three  or  four 
miles  of  Charlotte  Court  House,  Virginia,  when  one 
of  my  horses  stumbled,  and  in  falling  down,  broke 
the  shaft  of  my  gig.  Stopping  to  have  the  injury 
repaired,  I  was  invited  to  preach  at  the  Court  House 
on  Saturday  and  the  Sabbath.  I  did  so ;  and  before 
the  Sabbath  was  past,  the  appearances  were  so  en- 
couraging I  was  invited  to  remain  and  preach  a  little 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  193 

longer.  I  consented.  It  pleased  God  here  to  bless 
my  labours  beyond  my  expectations.  This  being 
noised  abroad,  persons  came  in  from  a  distance,  and 
nothing  would  do  but  I  must  hold  a  meeting  at  a 
church  called  Briery,  where  in  a  few  days  twenty- 
seven  persons  professed  conversion,  of  whom  only 
two  were  females.  At  this  meeting  was  Judge 
Boiling,  who,  some  years  after,  dropped  dead  in  the 
hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  the  city  of 
Washington.  After  the  meeting  closed  at  Briery,  I 
went  by  special  invitation  to  Prince  Edward,  where 
it  pleased  God  to  do,  as  I  hope,  a  blessed  work. 
From  Prince  Edward  I  went  to  Pough  Creek,  and 
there  entered  upon  an  unbroken  series  of  protracted 
meetings  in  Virginia,  which  lasted  for  one  whole 
year.  Thus,  the  apparently  accidental  breaking  of  a 
shaft  led  me  to  hold  a  series  of  protracted  meetings, 
in  which,  I  suppose,  something  Hke  one  thousand 
persons  were,  in  the  judgment  of  charity,  soundly 
converted.  Surely,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  chance; 
for  here,  it  seems,  that  great  effects  proceeded  from 
a  little  cause.  No,  no;  the  Lord  has  prepared  his 
throne  in  the  heavens,  and  his  kingdom  ruleth  over 
all.  As  immensity  cannot  confound,  even  so  minute- 
ness cannot  escape  him.  As  one  day  is  with  the 
Lord  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years  as 
one  day,  even  so  an  atom  is  with  God  as  a  world, 
and  a  world  as  an  atom.  WeU,  then,  may  we  say 
with  the  Psalmist,  "  O  Lord,  my  God,  thou  art  very 
great !" 

During  his  labours,  the  family  of  Mr.  Baker  resided 
at  Prince  Edward,  and  mider  date  of  Oxford,  North 
17 


194  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

Carolina,  3d  of  April,  1834,  lie  thus  writes  to  his 
daughter : 

"  My  beloved  Daughter — It  was  my  intention  to 
be  in  Prince  Edward  about  this  time,  but  I  find  that 
I  have  got  into  a  kind  of  enchanted  circle,  and  it  will 
yet  be  three  or  four  weeks  before  I  shall  be  with  you. 
*  *  *  I  hope,  my  dear  child,  that  you  are  doing 
well,  and  that  you  are  making  rapid  improvement. 
Eemember,  your  time  is  precious,  your  opportunities 
golden.  You  must  be  sure  to  be  a  comfort  to  your 
parents  in  every  thing. 

"  I  have  been  in  a  great  many  very  interesting 
meetings  since  I  saw  you.  I  have  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  seeing  young  converts  in  every  place.  The 
meeting  at  Clarkesville  closed  on  Tuesday  last.  It 
was  a  blessed  meeting ;  great  crowds  attended,  and 
about  twenty-two  persons  were  hopefully  converted, 
besides,  a  great  many  who  were  left  under  deep  im- 
pressions. There  was  a  certain  pious  man  present 
who  had  brought  two  daughters  and  a  son  to  the 
meeting,  expressly  that  they  might  be  converted ;  on 
Thursday  they  knelt  for  prayer ;  and  on  Friday,  by 
the  going  down  of  the  sun,  all  three  were  rejoicing 
in  hope.  Happy  father !  O,  when  shall  I  have  a  satis- 
faction like  this!  My  daughter,  remember  your 
father  and  mother  are  going  to  heaven;  where  are 
you  going,  my  dear  child  1  Are  you  willing  to  be 
separated  from  your  parents  in  that  eternity  which  is 
hastening  on  1  Take  care  of  your  soul,  for  if  you 
lose  that,  what  have  you  got  beside'?  I  would  write 
you  a  long  letter,  but  my  time  is  exceedingly  occu- 
pied. •***];  liope  that  your  instructors  are 
pleased  with  you,  and  also  that  you  so  conduct  your- 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  195 

self  as  to  deserve  the  goodwill  of  all  around.     My 
dear  child,  may  God  bless  you. 
"  Your  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

After  closing  my  missionary  labours  in  Virginia,  I 
resumed  my  journey;  and  inquiring  for  the  "garden 
spot"  in  Ohio,  I  came  first  to  Lancaster,  and  located 
my  family.  It  was  somewhat  remarkable,  that  the 
very  night  after  reaching  my  journey's  end,  my 
largest  horse  died.  Had  he  died  a  day  before,  it 
would  have  put  me  to  much  inconvenience  and  some 
expense.  And  here  I  must  say,  that  in  the  course  of 
my  life  I  have  met  with  many  things  indicating 
both  a  kind  and  watchful  Providence.  Leaving  my 
family  in  this  town,  I  went  on  to  Springfield,  where 
I  was  very  kindly  received  by  the  E,ev.  J.  Galloway, 
for  whom  I  preached  about  ten  days.  The  result 
was  a  precious  season  of  reviving,  in  which  about 
twenty-eight  persons  professed  conversion. 

"Last  week,"  Avrites  an  editor  of  that  date,  "we 
enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  a  visit  from  our  esteemed 
brother  and  former  pastor,  the  Eev.  Daniel  Baker. 
We  were  gratified  to  learn,  that  notwithstanding  his 
immense  labours  for  the  last  three  years — perhaps 
not  surpassed  in  this  country  since  the  days  of 
Whitefield — his  voice  is  still  firm  and  powerful  and 
his  general  health  decidedly  good. 

"  Brother  Baker  has  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  aiding 
in  revivals  of  religion  in  a  number  of  places  in  Ohio. 
At  Springfield,  Ohio,  a  short  time,  since,  during  a 
protracted  meeting,  about  thirty  were  added  to  the 


196  LIFE    AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

church,  most  of  them  heads  of  famiUes.  He  related 
to  us  an  interesting  incident  connected  with  this 
work  of  grace.  During  the  progress  of  the  meeting, 
a  very  respectable  gentleman  of  the  place  was  in 
great  apparent  distress  of  mind,  and  could  obtain  no 
rehef  He  continued  so  for  about  two  weeks,  only 
growing  more  and  more  unhappy.  One  day,  before 
the  meeting  closed,  he  •  came  to  his  pastor's  house 
with  joy  beaming  in  liis  countenance,  and  his  mouth 
filled  with  praise  to  God,  informing  him  that  he  had 
gained  a  peace  and  satisfaction  of  mind  to  which  he 
had  ever  before  been  a  stranger.  It  appeared  from 
his  statement,  that  in  a  pecuniary  transaction  a 
number  of  years  before,  he  had  defrauded  an  indi- 
vidual of  about  a  hundred  and  thirty  dollars.  The 
person  was  then  living  at  the  distance  of  several 
hundred  miles,  and  was  utterly  ignorant  of  the  fact 
that  he  had  ever  been  defrauded.  '  When  the  com- 
mandment came,  sin  revived,'  in  the  heart  of  him 
who  had  committed  the  fraud;  the  pungent  applica- 
tion of  divine  truth  by  the  Holy  Spirit  furnished  his 
conscience  with  a  scorpion  lash,  in  view  of  this  great 
enormity,  in  connection  with  his  other  offences,  and 
his  soul  refused  to  be  comforted.  '  But,'  said  he  to 
his  pastor,  '  I  have  yielded  up  the  wages  of  unright- 
eousness, in  order  to  make  as  full  and  ample  restitu- 
tion as  lay  in  my  power.  I  liave  sent  a  letter  to  my 
grossly  injured  friend,  acquainting  him  with  the 
whole  transaction,  and  enclosing  two  hundred  dol- 
lars; and  now  the  blessed  Saviour  has  visited  me  in 
mercy,  and  I  am  at  peace  with  God  and  man.' " 

The  narrative  continues: 

Pleased  with  Springfield,  I  contracted  with  a  car- 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  197 

penter  to  build  me  a  house,  intending  to  make  the 
State  of  Ohio  my  field,  and  Springfield  my  radiating 
point.  Having  received  many  invitations,  I  held 
protracted  meetings  in  various  towns  and  villages,  all 
of  which  were,  as  I  trust,  divinely  blessed. 

From  a  journal  kept  by  him  at  this  time,  there 
is  an  entry  made  which  deserves  insertion.  So  far  as 
is  known,  the  only  absolutely  insurmountable  obsta- 
cle in  the  way  of  a  decided  blessing  at  any  place  in 
which  a  meeting  was  held,  was  of  the  nature  here 
spoken  of.  There  were  other  cases  of  this  same 
kind;  this  is  the  only  one  to  which  allusion  is  made 
in  this  volume. 

Friday^  July  2dth,  1834.  Commenced  meeting  in 
Circleville.  Preached  at  night  on  Saturday,  and 
Sabbath.  Prospects  encouraging.  In  the  early  part 
of  the  week,  strove  hard  to  bring  about  a  reconcilia- 
tion with  certain  professors,  who,  for  some  time,  had 
been  at  variance  with  each  other.  All  in  vain. 
The  Spirit's  influence  seemed  gradually  to  be  with- 
drawn; and,  at  the  close  of  the  meeting  on  Wednes- 
day, whilst  we  rejoiced  over  three  or  four  hopefully 
converted,  we  had  to  lament  that  the  sins  of  the  pro- 
fessed people  of  God  had  prevented  richer  blessings. 

Finding  myself  in  the  midst  of  rabid  Abolitionists, 
who  poured  almost  unmeasured  abuse  upon  my 
southern  friends,  I  felt  myself,  as  it  were,  in  a  nest 
of  hornets.  Although  I  was  myself  no  slave-holder, 
yet  I  was  no  Abolitionist.  I  verily  believed  that 
the  relation  of  master  and  slave  was  recognized  in 
the  Bible,  and  that  ecclesiastical  bodies  have  no 
right  to  legislate  upon  the  subject.  Pained  by  the 
17* 


198  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

harsh  remarks  which  poured  into  my  ear  from  day 
to  day,  I  became  very  restless,  and  wished  to  return 
to  the  South  again.  Providentially,  I  received  at 
this  time  an  invitation  to  labour,  as  a  missionary,  in 
Kentucky.  Accordingly,  leaving  Ohio,  I  went  to 
Kentucky,  my  first  point  being  Danville,  where  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  being  present  at  the  meeting  of 
the  Synod,  which  procured  me  many  invitations  to 
labour  in  the  churches  as  an  Evangelist.  Amongst 
the  places  where  I  laboured  with  some  success,  may 
be  mentioned  Lexington,  Shelbyville,  and  Frankfort ; 
at  the  last  mentioned  place,  I  preached  with  such 
acceptance,  that  upon  closing  a  protracted  meeting, 
in  which,  I  think,  about  twenty  persons  professed 
conversion,  I  received  a  unanimous  call  to  become 
pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  recently  vacated 
by  Mr.  Edgar,  who  had  gone  to  Nashville,  Tennes- 
see. Here  I  remained  and  laboured,  with  much 
pleasure  and  with  some  success,  for  about  three 
years. 

A  brother  in  the  ministry,  who  visited  him  at  this 
period,  thus  remarks  of  him: 

"  I  met  him  once  in  Frankfort,  Kentucky,  in  the 
year  1835,  and  received  the  hospitality  of  his  family, 
as  well  as  his  efficient  aid  in  an  agency  for  our 
Education  Board.  Here,  too,  I  had  opportunity  to  ob- 
serve him  in  his  favourite  employment,  as  a  preacher. 
There  was  being  held  at  the  time  a  series  of  meet- 
ings for  promoting  a  revival  of  religion.  Mr.  Baker 
was  the  principal  preacher,  and  evidently  in  his 
element.  I  heard  one  sermon  on  the  divinity  of  our 
Saviour,  which  brought  out  prominently  his  peculiar 
tastes.     It  was    truly   seraphic;    some    would   have 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  199 

said  too  miicli  so:  but  those  who  knew  the  preacher 
best,  knew  it  was  not  affected;  and  the  sermon 
seemed  to  be  blessed  of  God." 

From  his  narrative: 

For  a  considerable  portion  of  this  time,  it  was  my 
practice  to  preach  in  the  morning,  at  nine  o'clock, 
to  the  convicts  in  the  penitentiary;  at  eleven  o'clock 
in  the  church ;  in  the  afternoon,  at  three  o'clock,  in 
the  country,  about  four  miles  distant;  and  at  night, 
in  the  church  in  town  again. 

In  regard  to  the  place  of  preaching  spoken  of,  in 
the  country,  an  elder  of  the  Frankfort  church  thus 
speaks,  after  the  death  of  Dr.  Baker : 

"There  had  existed  in  the  vicinity  of  Frankfort 
some  years  before  he  settled  here,  a  church  known 
as  the  Lower  Benson  Church;  but,  from  deaths,  re- 
movals, &c.,  it  had  become  so  much  weakened,  that 
the  house  of  worship  was  closed  and  converted  into  a 
barn,  and  there  had  been  no  Presbyterian  preaching 
in  the  neighbourhood  for  many  years.  The  few 
members  remaining  were  sought  out  by  him,  and 
induced  to  open  and  repair  their  old  church ;  and  he 
commenced  preaching  for  them  every  Sabbath  after- 
noon at  half-past  two  o'clock.  The  Spirit  was  poured 
out  upon  them;  their  numbers  were  greatly  in- 
creased; a  new  house  of  worship  was  erected;  and, 
since  that  time,  they  have  enjoyed  the  regular  minis- 
trations of  God's  word,  with  the  exception  of  some 
short  intervals,  and,  I  believe,  mostly  without  aid 
from  our  missionary  funds." 

From  the  narrative: 

Whilst  settled  in  Frankfort,  the  Presbytery  re- 
quested me  to  spend  two  or  three  months  in  visiting 


200  LIFE  AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

the  churches  in  their  bounds  for  the  purpose  of  hold- 
ing protracted  meetings.  I  consented,  if  brother 
T.,  pastor  of  the  church  at  Nicholas ville,  would 
accompany  me,  and  if  my  people  would  give  their 
consent.  The  matter  being  arranged,  we  went  out, 
and  acted  as  missionaries  for  some  two  or  three 
months ;  and  the  result  was,  that  at  the  next  meet- 
ing of  the  Presbytery,  it  appeared  from  sessional 
reports  that  more  than  one-half  of  those  added  to 
the  churches  in  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery  were 
brought  in  by  our  joint  labours.  But  it  must  be 
confessed  that  the  people  of  my  charge  grumbled  not 
a  little  that  their  pastor  was  absent  so  long;  and 
that,  too,  although  a  substitute  had  been  provided. 

At  this  time  he  writes  as  follows  to  E,ev.  R.  David- 
son, then  pastor  of  the  church  at  Lexington. 

"Frankfort,  13th  Oct.,  1835. 

"Dear  Brother  Davidson — I  have  laid  the  mat- 
ter before  my  people,  and  they  have  complied  with 
the  wishes  of  Presbytery.  Brother  T.,  of  Nicholas- 
ville,  is  much  pleased  with  the  plan,  and  will  accom- 
pany me.  I  expect  to  spend  the  first  two  weeks 
labouring  within  his  bounds ;  where  we  shall  labour 
next,  I  cannot  tell;  I  hope  the  Master  will  direct. 
My  congregation  would  by  no  means  consent  to 
my  being  absent  more  than  eight  weeks.  Indeed, 
although  both  brothers  L.  and  T.  were  present  to 
advocate  the  measure,  it  had  well  nigh  been  voted 
down ;  and  the  congregation  consented,  at  last,  only 
on  the  condition  that  I  might  be  recalled  by  the 
Session,  in   case   the   circumstances   of  the  church 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  201 

should  at  any  time  seem  to  require  it.  I  like  the 
idea  of  being  associated  with  a  brother  in  these  evan- 
gelical labours.  The  Master,  you  know,  sent  out  his 
disciples,  two  and  two,  into  every  place  whither  he 
himself  should  come.  May  the  great  Head  of  the 
Church  bless  this  effort  to  do  good.  Brother  T.  and 
myself  are  only  as  the  lad  that  had  two  barley  loaves 
and  a  few  small  fishes.  No  matter;  we  go  forth  in 
the  name  of  Him  who  can  turn  water  into  wine,  and 
can  make  one  chase  a  thousand,  and  two  put  ten 
thousand  to  flight.  I  hope  we  shall  have  the  prayers 
of  all  our  pious  friends ;  of  all  who  wish  well  to  our 
Zion.  Brother  W.  W.  Hall  will  supply  my  place. 
"With  Christian  salutations,  yours  sincerely, 

Daniel  Baker." 

From  the  narrative. 

I  have  already  stated,  that  while  I  was  pastor  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  in  Frankfort,  I  officiated  for 
a  considerable  length  of  time  as  chaplain  in  the  peni- 
tentiary, preaching  every  Sabbath  morning  at  nine 
o'clock;  some  Methodist  or  Baptist  brethren  fre- 
quently preaching  to  the  convicts  in  the  afternoon. 
It  pleased  God  to  bless  our  labours  to  the  awakening 
of  many,  and  even  to  the  hopeful  conversion  of  some 
twelve  or  fourteen.  With  the  cordial  approbation 
of  Mr.  Theobalds,  the  keeper,  a  day  was  appointed 
for  their  making  a  public  profession  of  their  faith  in 
Christ.  After  the  administration  of  baptism,  accord- 
ing to  the  forms  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  celebrated. 
It  was  a  rare  sight,  and  proved  a  solemn  occasion. 
Some  of  these  convicts  may  have  mistaken  convic- 


202  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

tion  for  conversion,  natural  feelings  for  evangelical 
exercises;  but  most  of  them  gave  what  was  deemed 
good  evidence  of  a  sound  conversion:  it  was  a 
matter  of  astonishment  to  many.  And  here  I  may- 
mention  an  incident.  AVishing  to  press  the  claims 
of  religion  upon  a  very  irreligious  man,  whose  wife 
was  a  member  of  my  church,  I  began  thus:  "Why, 
sir,  there  has  been  a  pleasing  work  of  grace  even  in 
the  penitentiary;  some  twelve  or  fifteen  of  the  con- 
victs have  professed  conversion."  "O,  yes,"  said  he; 
"  and  I  tell  you,  Mr.  Baker,  the  penitentiary  is  the 
honestest  part  of  Frankfort !"  This  he  said  to  excite 
laughter,  and  prevent  any  further  remarks  to  him  on 
the  subject  of  religion — and  he  succeeded — for  I 
never  resumed  the  subject  any  more;  and  sad  to  tell, 
some  two  years  after  he  died  as  he  had  lived,  a 
miserable  sinner.  Alas!  he  went  down  to  the  drunk- 
ard's grave.  He  made  an  attempt  to  reform  by 
tapering  off^  but,  as  I  was  told,  "  he  tapered  off  with 
a  quart  of  brandy  a  day,  and  a  pint  at  night." 

For  some  two  years  my  situation  in  Frankfort 
was  very  pleasant.  I  loved  the  people  of  my  charge, 
and  I  believe  they  were  much  attached  to  me.  My 
labours,  both  in  town  and  country,  were  blessed. 
Moreover,  we  had  a  very  flourishing  Sabbath-school; 
but  my  salary  was  not  promptly  paid,  and  I  began 
to  be  cramped  in  pecmiiary  matters.  Bills  were  pre- 
sented, which,  by  reason  of  the  non-payment  of  my 
salary,  I  was  unable  to  meet.  I  wrote  a  letter  to  the 
deacons  of  the  church,  but  it  availed  nothing.  Mr. 
C,  the  principal  one,  oflered  to  lend  me  money  once 
or  twice ;  I  accepted  his  kind  offer,  but  told  him  that 
I  did  not  like  to  borrow,  when,  if  my  salary  was  only 


REV.  DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  203 

promptly  paid,  I  would  have  money  enough  to  meet 
all  demands.  Perhaps  a  month  or  two  after  this,  I 
was  called  upon — it  was  a  rainy  day — to  pay  rent 
for  the  house  which  I  occupied,  (for  which,  too,  I 
had  been  led  to  believe  I  should  have  no  rent  to 
pay.)  Getting  my  umbrella,  I  went  to  Mr.  C,  and 
asked  if  any  collections  had  yet  been  made.  "No," 
said  he,  "but  I  can  lend  you  the  money."  I  felt 
hurt,  and  instantly  rising  up,  "  No,  sir,"  said  I,  "  the 
money  is  due  me ;  I  will  accept  no  loan."  At  that 
moment  a  tie  was  cut  that  bound  me  to  Frankfort. 
I  believed  it  was  not  the  fault  of  the  subscribers,  for 
they  had  not  been  called  upon;  but  I  was  in  the 
hands  of  those  who  seemed  not  to  have  any  thought 
about  my  wants.  Under  these  circumstances,  I  came 
to  a  secret  but  settled  determination  to  leave  Frank- 
fort, resigning  my  charge  whenever  another  field  of 
usefulness  opened  to  me. 

About  this  time  the  Rev.  B.  Crawford's  wife,  and 
some  other  of  my  Avife's  relations,  were  with  us  on  a 
visit;  and  returning  shortly  after  to  Marion,  Green 
county,  Alabama,  the  place  of  their  residence,  made 
it  known  that  I  had  some  desire  to  leave  Frankfort, 
and  was  willing  that  my  wife  should  be  near  to  her 
relatives  in  Alabama.  The  result  was,  that  in  a 
little  while  I  received  a  pressing  invitation,  both  to 
Greensboro'  and  Tuskaloosa.  Accordingly,  making 
arrangements  for  having  the  pastoral  relation  dis- 
solved, I  left  Frankfort,  after  preaching  my  farewell 
sermon  to  a  crowded  house.  I  spoke  affectionately, 
and  made  no  mention  of  my  grievances  touching  the 
non-payment  of  my  salary ;  but  I  have  since  thought 
that  in  this   matter  I   may  have   erred.     Had  the 


204  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OP   THE 

people  known  the  true  state  of  the  case,  the  result 
might  have  been  very  different.  And  here  I  will 
mention  a  little  matter  that  somewhat  troubled  me. 
Besides  having  to  preach  my  farewell  sermon  in 
Frankfort,  I  had  made  an  appointment  to  preach  a 
farewell  sermon  to  my  country  congregation  in  the 
afternoon.  Just  at  this  time,  Mrs.  E.,  the  mother  of 
Mrs.  C,  died.  She  was  a  lady  of  high  respecta- 
bility, and  I  was  invited  to  attend  her  funeral  in  the 
country  at  the  same  hour.  As  the  request  came 
from  Mrs.  C,  a  much  esteemed  member  of  my 
church,  and  as  funeral  claims  were  high  claims,  at 
first  I  knew  not  what  to  do ;  but  thinking  how  large 
a  congregation  I  should  have,  and  how  great  would 
be  the  disappointment  if  I  did  not  preach  the  ex- 
pected sermon,  I  finally  concluded  to  decline  attend- 
ing the  funeral,  and  wrote  a  respectful  note  to  Mrs. 
C,  stating  the  circumstances  of  the  case;  but  I 
understood  she  was  displeased  that  I  did  not  attend 
the  funeral  of  her  mother.  This  for  a  time  troubled 
me,  but  I  had  the  consolation  to  believe  that  I  had 
done  right. 

A  strong  attachment  existed  between  pastor  and 
people  here,  as  in  every  church  of  which  Mr.  Baker 
had  charge.  On  hearing  of  his  death,  so  many  years 
after,  the  church  met  and  passed  a  series  of  resolu- 
tions, expressing,  in  the  highest  terms,  their  pleasing 
remembrances  of  him  as  a  man  and  a  minister. 

The  narrative  proceeds: 

Disposing  of  my  furniture  at  auction,  I  left  Frank- 
fort with  my  family  and  came  to  Tuskaloosa,  Ala- 
bama.    This  was  in  the  year  1836.     I  preached  to 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  205 

crowded  houses  both  in  Tuskaloosa  and  Greensboro'. 
I  was  offered  a  salary,  I  think,  of  two  thousand 
dollars  at  the  latter  place,  but  preferred  the  former, 
although  the  salary  there  was  only  fifteen  hundred 
dollars,  and  a  house  rent  free.  Under  my  ministry 
the  church  was  much  blessed.  In  a  short  time  the 
membership  increased  considerably;  moreover,  as 
was  usual  with  me,  when  invited,  I  visited  other 
churches,  and  aided  pastors  in  holding  protracted 
meetings,  being  required,  however,  to  do  most  of 
the  preaching  myself.  Amongst  the  places  thus 
visited  were  Marion,  Gainesville,  and  a  country 
church  not  far  from  Selma.  Each  and  every  meeting 
was  crowned  with  a  blessing;  but  the  richest  dis- 
plays of  grace  were  seen  in  Gainesville,  the  Presby- 
terian church  there  being  under  the  pastoral  care  of 
the  Rev.  John  Leyburn,  a  young  man  of  talent  and- 
great  promise.  If  I  recollect  right,  the  hopeful 
converts  there  numbered  some  thirty-five,  among 
whom  were  several  men  of  considerable  note.  Some 
months  after  this  meeting  in  Gainesville,  brother 
Leyburn,  at  my  request,  came  to  Tuskaloosa  and 
preached  for  me  some  eight  or  ten  days  in  succes- 
sion, preaching  in  all  seventeen  sermons.  It  pleased 
God  to  bless  his  labours  greatly.  Besides  a  goodly 
number  of  others  brought  in,  there  were  some  five 
or  six  students  of  the  University,  and  a  tutor  named 
B. ;  his  brother,  one  of  the  professors,  having  been 
previously  brought  in  under  my  ministry. 

About  this  time  began  the  troubles  in  our  Church 

between  what  were  termed  the  New  and  Old-school 

party.     Their  wranglings  grieved  me  much.     I  was 

wont  to  say,  "  I  have  no  horns ;  I  know  not  how  to 

18 


206  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

fight ;  I  am  one  of  the  working  ants.^^  On  account  of 
my  not  coming  out  strongly  on  either  side,  I  was 
called  a  "fence-man;"  and  upon  the  fence  I  remain- 
ed until,  so  to  speak,  every  rail  was  taken  down. 
What  finally  determined  me  was  this:  the  rejection 
of  Dr.  Miller's  resolution  to  restore  Mr.  Barnes,  but 
censure  certain  expressions  in  his  book.  The  New- 
school  party,  with  the  "moderates,"  having  the  ma- 
jority, shielded  the  book  as  well  as  the  man.  As 
certain  sentences  in  the  book  were  very  exception- 
able, this  was  more  than  I  could  stand;  so  in  one 
moment  I  took  my  stand  on  the  Old-school  side. 
Parties  were  formed  in  my  own  church ;  some  of  the 
members  were  fiercely  in  favour  of  the  New-school, 
but  it  so  happened  that  all  the  members  of  the 
Session  agreed  with  me.  All  were  firm ;  but  it  must 
be  confessed,  one  was  as  fierce  for  the  Old-school  as 
certain  private  members  alluded  to  were  for  the 
New-school.  It  required  much  prudence  and  much 
efibrt,  on  my  part,  to  keep  them  from  separating, 
and  splitting  the  church  in  two;  but  with  God's 
blessing,  peace  and  quietness  were  finally  restored; 
and  when  two  General  Assemblies  were  formed,  the 
church  of  which  I  was  pastor  gave  in  its  adhesion  to 
the  Old-school  General  Assembly. 

Appointed  a  Commissioner  to  attend  the  first 
meeting  of  our  Assembly,  after  the  separation,  I 
went  on;  and  on  reaching  Louisville,  I  understood 
that  the  Appellate  Court  in  Pennsylvania  had  afiirm- 
ed  the  decision  previously  given  by  Judge  R.  against 
us.  Whilst  under  this  impression,  going  on  board 
of  a  steamboat  bound  for  Wheeling,  I  fell  in  with 
some  brethren  on  their  way  as  Commissioners  to  the 


RET.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  207 

other  Assembly.  With  a  sad  countenance,  I  told 
them  what  I  had  heard.  They  were  wonderfully 
elated,  and  were  very  merry.  Whilst  they  were  in- 
dulging in  all  the  feehngs  of  exultation  and  triumph, 
I  remarked  playfully,  "Well,  brethren,  but  don't 
you  know  what  a  certain  old  book  says,  '  The 
triumphing  of  the  wicked  is  short ;'  and,  sure  enough, 
in  a  few  hours  after,  it  was  ascertained  that  the  de- 
cision of  the  lower  court  had  been  reversed.  I  may 
mention  one  circumstance  more:  Whilst  the  impres- 
sion was  still  with  me  and  others  that  the  New- 
school  side  had  carried  the  day,  Dr.  B.  said  to  me, 
"And  what  will  you  Old-school  brethren  now  dol" 
"Well,"  said  I,  "if  our  goodly  temple  is  taken  from 
us,  we  will  put  up  a  shanty  and  get  along  as  well  as 
we  can." 

This  Dr.  B.  is  now  perhaps  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished ministers  among  the  Congregational  clergy. 
The  compiler  of  this  volume  remembers  him  well 
^when  a  guest  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Baker  at  Frank- 
fort. Being  then  a  boy,  when  tea  was  ready  on 
Sabbath  evening,  the  writer  was  sent  into  his  father's 
study  to  call  the  distinguished  guest  down  to  the 
table.  With  astonishment  he  beheld  the  visitor 
lying  at  full  length  on  the  rug  before  the  fire,  slowly 
roUing  himself  from  side  to  side,  as  he  prepared  his 
mind  for  the  services  of  the  night.  A  novel  way  of 
studying. 

The  narrative  continues: 

When  in  Philadelphia,  as  a  member  of  the  Old- 
school   Assembly,  I   met  with   several   of  my   old 


208  LIFE  AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

acquaintances  on  the  other  side,  who  expressed  their 
astonishment  to  find  me  where  I  was.  One  remarked, 
"  Ah,  brother  Baker,  you  are  fat,  and  have  become 
lazy,  and  therefore  you  are  on  the  Old-school  side." 
Having  some  curiosity  to  step  in  a  moment,  and  see 
who  were  in  the  New-school  Assembly,  I  was  hurry- 
ing on  to  the  First  Church,  where  the  Assembly  was 
convened.  Near  the  entrance  I  met  a  brother  with 
whom  I  had  been  on  terms  of  great  intimacy. 
Reaching  out  my  hand  to  him  in  a  playful  way, 
and  smiling,  I  said,  "Why,  brother  H.,  what  are 
you  doing  here'?"  To  my  astonishment  he  fiercely 
replied,  "  We  have  come  here  to  resist  high-handed 
oppression."  Not  perceiving  any  cause  why  church 
difficulties  should  break  private  friendship,  I  made 
another  pleasant  remark.  To  this  he  replied  in  the 
same  strain  as  before.  "O,"  said  I,  "brother  H.,  if 
you  have  such  feelings,  we  must  take  different  sides 
of  the  street — so,  good  morning."  Saying  this,  I 
turned  away,  and  went  not  in.  And  here,  my  chil- 
dren may  wish  to  know  my  opinion  in  relation  to 
what  has  been  called  the  "  Exscinding  Act."  My 
opinion  is  this :  It  was  a  strong  measure,  like  Gene- 
ral Jackson's  removal  of  the  deposites.  I  did  not 
like  it  much,  but  I  knew  of  no  other  that  would 
meet  the  exigency.  And  now,  after  many  years  have 
passed  away,  I  believe  it  was,  so  to  speak,  the  very 
salvation  of  our  Church;  for  certain  forms  of  heresy 
and  wild  measures  were  coming  in  like  a  flood, 
which,  if  not  checked  in  time,  and  effectually,  would 
have  led  to  most  disastrous  results. 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  209- 


CHAPTER    IX. 

TUSKALOOSA — LABOURS   AS   AN   EVANGELIST — MISSION   TO 
TEXAS. 

The  present  pastor  of  the  church  in  Tuskaloosa, 
Rev.  R.  B.  White,  D.  D.,  in  the  course  of  a  letter  to 
the  compiler  of  this  volume,  thus  speaks  of  the 
period  of  Dr.  Baker's  sojourn  there: 

"  Your  father  was  most  highly  esteemed  here  as  a 
minister  of  Christ,  as  he  has  been  every  where  that 
his  character  and  labours  have  been  known.  His 
eloquent  and  powerful  sermons  were  duly  appre- 
ciated; his  pulpit  efforts  were  well  sustained  to  the 
close  of  his  ministry  among  this  people.  None  of 
his  sermons  were  indifferent;  many  of  them  were 
regarded,  in  view  of  the  true  end  of  preaching,  as  of 
the  most  superior  kind.  Dr.  Baker's  frank,  affable, 
and  guileless  manners,  endeared  him  to  many  here, 
as  a  man.  The  purity  of  his  aims  seems  to  have 
been  acknowledged  by  all.  His  indifference  to 
worldly  things,  his  ignorance  of  them,  as  some  re- 
garded it,  seemed  to  win  him  respect.  Your  father 
was  remarkable,  while  here,  for  his  interest  in  chil- 
dren, and  his  power  of  interesting  them;  he  won 
at  once  their  attention,  their  affection,  and  their 
confidence.  He  formed  and  sustained  Bible-classes, 
which  embraced  the  whole  congregation,  and  proved 
greatly  interesting  and  instructive.  The  prayer- 
meetings  which  he  held  were  especially  profitable. 

"At  one  time,  finding  the  prayer-meeting  lan- 
guishing and  neglected,  he  adopted  an  ingenious 
18* 


210  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

mode  of  drawing  the  people  to  the  place  of  prayer. 
He  told  them  on  the  Sabbath,  that  if  they  would  all 
meet  him  on  Thursday  evening  at  the  appointed 
place  of  prayer,  he  would  show  them  a  strange  sight. 
On  Thursday  evening,  accordingly,  there  was  a  large 
attendance.  He  arose,  and  said:  'My  friends,  I  told 
you  that  if  you  would  come  here,  I  would  show  you 
a  strange  sight.  See  here,  is  this  not  a  strange 
sight — so  many  people  at  the  prayer-meeting  in 
Tuskaloosaf  The  rebuke,  so  wisely  and  so  wittily 
given,  was  salutary.  He  did  much  good  in  estab- 
lishing prayer-meetings  in  different  parts  of  the 
town.  His  labours  among  the  blacks  were  indefati- 
gable, and  attended  with  great  good  to  them.  They 
still  speak  of  him  with  a  degree  of  admiration  and 
love,  such  as  they  cherish  for  no  other  minister 
whom  they  have  known.  He  has  been  distinguished 
chiefly  as  an  Evangelist;  but  his  labours  and  his  suc- 
cess here — eighty-one  being  added  to  the  church 
during  the  period  of  his  stay  in  Tuskaloosa,  from 
March  6th,  1837,  to  July  10th,  1839— give  evidence 
that  he  possessed  high  qualifications  for  the  pastoral 
office.     He  lives  in  the  affections  of  this  people." 

Among  his  many  correspondents,  there  was  one, 
the  Hev.  John  S.  Galloway,  pastor  of  the  church  in 
Springfield,  Ohio,  to  whom  he  was  greatly  attached. 
Many  letters  passed  between  them  at  this  period. 
The  compiler  of  this  volume  is  well  aware  that  let- 
ters are  interesting  chiefly  to  those  to  whom  they  are 
originally  addressed ;  yet  the  letters  of  Dr.  Baker  are 
so  descriptive  of  passing  events,  and  so  illustrative  of 
the  man,  as  to  have  an  interest  to  more  than  those 
to  whom  they  were  written.     Above  all,  his  letters, 


KEY.  DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  211 

to  whomsoever  addressed,  dwell  mainly  upon  a  theme 
which  invariably  interests  the  children  of  God — a 
theme  for  ever  new,  even  though  the  paper  which 
bears  the  writing  be  yellow  with  age,  though  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  writing  have  passed  away  in  the 
rush  of  new  events,  and  though  the  person  writing 
and  the  person  written  to,  have  long  since  realized 
in  heaven  that  which  they  together  communed  about 
on  earth.  As  may  be  supposed,  Dr.  Baker  conducted 
during  all  his  life  a  very  large  correspondence  with 
all  manner  of  persons.  In  lingering  over  such  of  his 
letters  as  are  before  him,  the  compiler  of  this  work 
has  found  difficulty,  not  in  determining  what  letters 
to  include  in  the  volume,  but  what  to  exclude. 
Such  as  are  published  in  this  and  other  chapters, 
are  mere  specimens  of  the  many  letters  which  have 
gone  from  his  hand  to  every  quarter  of  the  land — 
radiating  every  where  the  same  spiritual  light  and 
heat  from  the  fervent  spirit  dwelling  within  him. 
The  readers  of  these  letters  can  best  appreciate  the 
degree  of  influence  they  exerted — meagre  specimens 
as  these  are  of  tens  of  thousands  of  like  pages  scat- 
tered so  widely  abroad. 

"Alabama,  May  22c/,  1838. 

"  Dear  Brother  Galloway — Your  very  kind  let- 
ter came  to  hand.  The  remarkably  friendly  manner 
in  which  you  write,  has  endeared  you  more  than 
ever  to  my  heart;  and  I  am  free  to  say,  that  I  rejoice 
that  I  ever  became  acquainted  with  you.  May  our 
mutual  friendship  continue  till  merged  in  the  purer, 
sweeter,  and  more  elevated  friendship  of  the  hea- 
venly world. 


212  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

"I  am  happy  to  state  that  my  situation  here  is  a 
very  pleasant  one,  and  my  prospects  of  usefulness 
still  quite  encouraging.     Every  pew  in  the  church  is 
rented,  and,  within  little  more  than  a  year  past,  we 
have  received,  on  examination  and  certificate,  forty- 
four  to  the   communion  of  our  church.      The  last 
adult  baptized  was  Professor  B.,  of  the  University 
of  Alabama.      About  the  middle  of  March  last,   I 
attended  a  protracted  meeting  in  New  Orleans.     It 
was  exceedingly  interesting.     Christians  were  won- 
derfully revived,   and  perhaps  twenty  sinners   con- 
verted  unto  God.     Amongst   the   hopeful   converts 
was  a  gentleman  of  great  impiety,  and  some  consid- 
erable standing,  who,  it  seems,  some  two  or  three 
years  ago,  had,  in  connection  with  others,  published 
a  paper  called  "  The  Anxious  Seat.^^     He  and  three 
of  his  sons  were  brought  in.     This  was  considered  a 
glorious  triumph  of  grace,  and,  I  assure  you,  occa- 
sioned   much    joy.      Since   my   return   from   New 
Orleans,  I  have  also  had  the  pleasure  of  attending  a 
meeting  in  Gainesville,  a  new  and  flourishing  little 
town,    about   fifty  miles   from   this.     The   meeting 
lasted  eleven  days,  and  was  truly  a  blessed  one.     I 
preached    twenty    sermons,    and,    of    course,    gave 
numerous  exhortations.     When  I  left,  the  converts 
were  thirty-seven,  amongst  whom  were  two  infidels, 
five  young  ladies,  who  had  been  very  gay,  one  emi- 
nent physician,  one  old  hardened  sinner,  two  "dog- 
gery" keepers,  and  fourteen  heads  of  families.     Was 
not  this  a  precious  little  harvest  1     A  few  days  since, 
I  received  a  letter  from  the  pastor,  brother  Leyburn, 
a  dear,  charming  man,  who  says  that  the  work  is  still 
going  on;  that  the  last  night  before  he  closed  his 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  213 

letter,  eight  new  persons  remained  to  be  conversed 
with;  and  that  the  number  of  hopeful  converts  had 
increased  to  fifty.  Bless  the  Lord!  Anxious  seats 
were  not  used,  either  in  New  Orleans  or  Gainesville. 
I  greatly  prefer  inquiry  meetings.  The  General  As- 
sembly of  our  Church  is  now,  I  suppose,  in  session. 
I  feel  awful.  The  Lord  reigns !  This  is  my  comfort, 
and  right  glad  am  I  to  know  that  "Zion  still  enjoys 
her  Monarch's  love."  I  do  not  meddle  with  matters 
too  high  for  me.  If  any  man  has  a  call  to  fight,  let 
him  go  ahead,  I  say;  as  for  myself,  I  am  called  to 
work,  and  I  am  willing  to  be  an  humble  day-labourer 
until  my  work  is  done.  Yesterday  I  preached  from 
these  words,  "  By  whom  shall  Jacob  arise  1  for  he  is 
small."  In  pointing  out  the  instrumentalities,  I 
mentioned,  I.  The  ministry  of  the  word;  II.  The 
benevolent  institutions  of  the  day;  III.  Maternal 
influence;  and  lY.  Prayer.  The  subject  is  a  noble 
one ;  suppose  you  take  it.  When  I  enlarged  upon 
the  third  head,  there  was  manifestly  a  very  deep 
impression.  The  subject  admits  of  fine  inferences. 
Do  tell  me  some  of  your  choice  themes. 

Daniel  Baker." 

"October  23d,  1838. 

"Dear  Brother  Galloway — We  have  recently 
had  a  protracted  meeting  in  my  church,  which 
has  proved  an  exceedingly  delightful  one.  Our 
meetings  have  been  crowded.  There  has  been  very 
deep  feeling,  and  no  disorder.  Fifty-seven  per- 
sons have  professed  a  hope,  and  many  more  are 
asking  what  they  must  do  to  be  saved.  Bless  the 
Lord,  O   my  soul!     Mr.   Leyburn,  brother   of  the 


214  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

missionary  in  Greece,  laboured  with  us,  to  great 
acceptance.  He  is  a  young  man  of  fine  talents,  of  a 
most  excellent  spirit,  and,  altogether,  of  great  pro- 
mise. Would  that  we  had  a  thousand  more  of  his 
stamp.  With  brother  Leyburn  was  associated  bro- 
ther McMullen,  whom  we  all  greatly  esteem  and 
love;  but  being,  like  myself,  pretty  much  at  home  in 
this  place,  did  not  take  so  prominent  a  part  as 
brother  Leyburn,  who  had  never  preached  in  this 
place  before.  Of  the  converts,  so  called,  twenty- 
eight  are  young  ladies,  eleven  married  women, 
seventeen  young  men,  and  one  coloured  man. 
Christians,  too,  were  much  stirred  up,  and  I  am  free 
to  say,  take  it  all  in  all,  the  meeting  was  a  most 
blessed  one.  Our  regular  communion  season  takes 
place  next  Sabbath  week.  I  hope  we  shall  have  a 
large  addition  to  our  church,  although  some  of  the 
converts  are  nominally  of  other  communions. 
"In  haste,  yours  very  sincerely, 

Daniel  Baker." 

"November  2Sth,  1838. 

"Dear  Brother  Galloway — Every  letter  I  re- 
ceive from  you  strengthens  my  attachment  to  you. 
You  are  certainly  very  kind  in  all  that  you  do,  and 
in  all  that  you  say.  You  seem  at  all  times  to  be 
just  exactly  under  the  influence  of  the  true  Chris- 
tian spirit,  and  there  is  nothing  more  beautiful  upon 
earth.  O,  if  every  one  who  names  the  name  of 
Christ  would  only  manifest,  in  all  circumstances,  and 
on  all  occasions,  the  same  spirit,  it  does  appear  to 
me  that  the  church  would  indeed  look  forth  as  the 
morning,  beautiful  as  Tirzah,  comely  as  Jerusalem, 


HEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  215 

and  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners.  Give  me  the 
genuine,  the  consistent  Christian  as  my  companion 
for  ever  and  ever.  Our  Zion  is  in  trouble,  but  the 
Lord  reigns!  I  am  glad  that  the  question  is  not 
"Approve  or  not  approve,"  but  "Adhere  or  not 
adhere."  I  have  cast  in  my  lot  with  the  "Old- 
school  party,"  and  I  suppose  you  and  myself  have 
pretty  much  the  same  views. 

"  The  protracted  meeting  in  my  church  has  been 
productive  of  very  important  results.  The  excite- 
ment has  extended  to  other  churches,  and  I  think 
the  number  hopefuUy  converted  in  our  city  may 
now  be  put  down  at  nearly  one  hundred.  Bless  the 
Lord,  O  my  soul!  Two  of  the  officers  of  the  Uni- 
versity have  joined  my  church,  and  ten  of  the 
students  have  also  professed  conversion,  and  have 
connected  themselves  with  different  churches,  join- 
ing the  communions  to  which  their  parents  belong. 

"  We  had  a  very  pleasant  synodical  meeting.  The 
preaching  on  the  occasion,  also,  was  much  blessed. 
Hopeful  converts,  twenty-four.  One  of  them,  a  gen- 
tleman of  high  respectability,  has  written  me  an 
exceedingly  interesting  letter,  closing  with  these 
words :  '  In  the  hour  of  death  I  think  I  shall  see  you, 
sir,  as  your  finger  ran  over  the  precious  promises  in 
the  third  chapter  of  John.'  The  portion  of  Scrip- 
ture referred  to  is  found  in  John's  Gospel,  third 
chapter,  from  14th  to  19th  verse,  which  I  consider 
to  be  the  gospel  in  miniature.  I  rejoice  that  the 
Lord  has  continued  to  bless  the  people  of  your 
charge.  May  your  stars  be  as  the  dew-drops  of  the 
morning. 


216  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

"Last  week  I  left  Columbus,  Mississippi.  A 
meeting  was  still  going  on  which  promised  very  im- 
portant results.  I  wished  to  stay  longer,  but  duty 
called  me  home.  During  the  recent  religious  ex- 
citement in  Tuskaloosa,  I  think  our  Governor  was 
not  left  untouched;  unless  I  am  much  mistaken, 
both  he  and  his  lady  are  under  very  serious  impres- 
sions. They  have  a  pew  in  my  church,  and  I  have 
observed  several  things  about  them  very  encouraging. 
They  seem  to  be  very  willing  to  be  conversed  with 
on  the  subject  of  religion.  Yesterday  his  Excellency 
requested  me  to  go  with  him  to  a  certain  place 
where  he  was  to  give  an  unfavourable  answer  to  a 
woman  who  came  to  plead  for  the  life  of  her  husband, 
under  sentence  of  death  for  murder.  I  scarcely  ever 
felt  so  awful  in  all  my  life,  as  when  the  poor  woman 
entered  the  room  to  hear  from  the  lips  of  the  Go- 
vernor that  word  which  was  to  give  life  to  her  hus- 
band, or  quench  every  ray  of  hope.  When  the 
Governor  told  her  that  he  could  not  pardon  her  hus- 
band, she  plead  hard;  but,  touched  as  the  Governor 
certainly  was,  a  stern  sense  of  duty  made  him  firm. 
Poor  woman! — she  said  her  heart  would  break;  but 
all  availed  nothing.  To  make  matters  worse,  she 
was  unconverted,  and  of  course  a  stranger  to  the 
consolations  of  religion.  After  his  Excellency  had 
retired,  I  conversed  with  her  and  prayed ;  and  then 
could  do  nothing  more  than  leave  her  to  her  sorrows 
and  her  God. 

"  You  have,  it  seems,  another  olive-plant  added  to 
those  already  round  about  your  table.  May  the  dew 
of  heaven  rest  upon  them  all.     My  kindest  regards 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  217 

to  your  companion,  and  all  the  members  of  your  dear 
family. 

"  Your  brother  in  the  bonds  of  the  gospel, 

Daniel  Baker." 


••February  25^/i,  1839. 

"Dear  Brother  Galloway — I  told  you  of  the 
revival  with  which  we  were  favoured  last  fall.  Well, 
one  of  the  converts  died  a  few  days  since,  furnishing 
a  new  proof  of  the  great  importance  of  at  once 
securing  the  salvation  of  the  soul.  This  young  con- 
vert, a  very  interesting  and  talented  young  man, 
was  accidently  shot  while  hunting,  and  died  in  about 
six  hours.  On  hearing  the  sad  intelligence  that  he 
had  received  a  mortal  wound,  I  stepped  into  a  car- 
riage and  went  to  the  place,  about  two  miles  from 
the  city,  where  I  found  him  lying  upon  the  ground, 
weltering  in  his  gore.  He  was  in  great  agony  of 
body;  he  groaned  and  cried  aloud,  so  that  his  voice 
re-echoed  through  the  grove.  'My  dear  brother,' 
said  I,  'Is  Christ  precious f  'He  is,'  rephed  he. 
'Are  you  wilhng  to  die]'  'Yes.'  'Are  you  happy]' 
'Yes.'  'Well,  I  trust  you  will  soon  be  in  heaven; 
and  there  is  no  pain  there.'  As  soon  as  I  mentioned 
this,  he  seemed  to  be  wonderfully  calmed,  and,  as 
well  as  I  can  recoUect,  he  cried  aloud  no  more. 
Observing  his  apparent  composure,  I  thought  his 
pain  was  really  gone;  but  on  putting  the  question, 
he  said,  '  Great  pain.'  He  was  brought  in  a  furni- 
ture carriage  to   town.     I   thought  he  would  have 


died  on  the  road;  but  he  was  carried  to  the  house 
of  a  friend,  and,  in  about  two  hours  after,  he  peace- 
fully fell  asleep  in  Jesus.     O,  what  a  blessed  thing 
19 


218  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

it  is  to  be  a  Christian!  As  our  Master  says,  'Blessed 
is  that  servant  whom  onr  Lord,  when  he  cometh, 
shall  find  watching.'  Had  he  not  been  prepared, 
when  shot,  how  could  he  have  been  when  he  died'? 
O,  how  do  poor  sinners  place  in  peril  the  salvation 
of  their  souls!  My  dear  brother,  your  business  and 
mine  is  to  do  what  we  can  to  awaken  them.  May 
the  Lord  make  us  more  earnest  and  more  faithful  in 
our  great  work. 
"  With  Christian  salutations,  your  brother  in  Christ, 

"Daniel  Baker." 

July  15th,  1839. 

"Dear  Brother  Galloway — The  meeting  in 
Wilkesbarre,  Pennsylvania,  proved  to  be  an  exceed- 
ingly interesting  one.  Christians  were  wonderfully 
enlivened,  and  the  number  of  hopeful  converts 
amounted  to  about  sixty;  amongst  whom  was  a 
lawyer  of  distinguished  talents,  at  the  very  head  of 
his  profession.  As  he  is  a  fine  speaker,  and  only 
about  thirty  years  of  age,  hopes  are  entertained  that 
he  will  become  a  herald  of  the  cross.  Bless  the 
Lord! 

"At  our  last  meeting  for  inquirers,  there  were 
something  like  one  hundred  and  thirty  present,  and 
the  interest  seemed  to  be  spreading  and  deepening 
every  day.  Brother  D.,  the  pastor,  is  truly  an  inte- 
resting brother.  He  is  a  beloved  man  of  God,  and 
rejoiced  much  to  see  his  garden  look  so  fresh  and 
green. 

"In  an  interview  with  Dr.  John  Breckinridge, 
some  time  since,  he  expressed  a  great  desire  that  I 
should  go   to   Texas.     He   was  pleased   to  say  he 


REY.    DANIEL    BAKER,    D.  D.  219 

thought  I  could  do  much  good  there ;  that  I  might 
organize  a  hundred  churches,  &c.  What  do  you 
think  of  the  scheme]  My  brother,  I  am  in  many 
respects  pleasantly  situated  here,  but  my  field  of  use- 
fulness is  not  as  large  as  I  could  wish  it,  and  I  am 
kept  in  a  very  unpleasant  state  on  accomit  of  my 
salary  not  being  promptly  paid.  We  do  not  preach 
for  money,  and  yet  without  it  we  cannot  support  our 
families,  nor  pay  our  debts. 

"  We  have  had  several  sudden  deaths  in  this  place 
lately,  and  yet  the  living  seemed  not  inclined  to  lay 
it  to  heart.  O  for  awakening  influences,  fresh  from 
the  throne  of  God! 

"  Ut  oUni,  ut  semper  tuus  amicus  et  frate)\ 

Daniel  Baker." 

The  autobiography  proceeds : 

I  think  it  was  in  the  year  1838  that  my  attention 
was  first  drawn  to  Texas.  The  Rev.  John  Breckin- 
ridge had  just  visited  this  new  republic,  and  upon 
his  return,  was  anxious  that  Presbyterians  should 
make  some  special  efi'orts  to  send  missionaries,  and 
plant  churches  of  our  faith  and  order  in  that  new 
field.  At  his  special  request,  several  members  of 
the  Tuskaloosa  Presbytery  met  him  at  Mesopotamia. 
He  gave  a  glowing  account  of  Texas  as  an  unusually 
promising  field  for  missionary  enterprise ;  and,  as  he 
closed,  he  turned  to  me  and  said,  "Brother  Baker, 
you  are  the  man  for  Texas."  A  few  months  after, 
I  heard  him  deliver  a  discourse  on  Texas,  in  which 
he  spoke  most  favourably  of  its  soil  and  climate,  and 
especially  held  up  the  llepubHc  of  the  "lone  star"  as 
a  magnificent  field  for  missionary  operations.     When 


220  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

the  congregation  was  dismissed,  meeting  mc  at  the 
door,  he  again  urged  me  to  go  to  Texas.  I  told  him 
that  perhaps  I  would  take  the  subject  into  prayer- 
ful consideration. 

Upon  reaching  home  my  mind  became  more  and 
more  impressed  with  the  idea  that  it  might  indeed 
be  my  duty  to  go  there.  I  finally  concluded  that  if 
the  Presbytery  thought  it  advisable,  and  would  make 
provision  for  my  support,  I  would  go.  To  bring  the 
matter  to  a  point,  I  announced  my  intention  to  re- 
sign my  pastoral  charge,  and  desired  the  church  to 
unite  with  me  in  a  request  to  the  Presbytery  to 
dissolve  the  pastoral  connection.  This  was  strongly 
opposed,  and  various  measures  were  adopted  to  in- 
duce me  to  relinquish  the  idea  of  going  to  Texas. 
But,  if  I  must  go,  why  not  simply  make  a  visit '?  I 
was  told  that  my  people  were  willing  that  I  should 
be  allowed  full  time  to  visit  Texas,  and  still  retain 
my  pastoral  relation  to  them;  and  when  I  finally 
remarked  that  I  would  leave  the  decision  of  the  case 
to  Presbytery,  a  commissioner.  Professor  B.,  was 
appointed  to  oppose  the  dissolution  of  the  pastoral 
connection.  When  the  matter  was  brought  up  before 
Presbytery,  much  was  said  pro  and  con,  but  it  was 
carried  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote,  that  I  should 
be  released  from  my  charge  in  order  that  I  might  go 
as  a  missionary  to  Texas.  Moreover,  the  Presbytery 
pledged  itself  to  give  me  a  salary  at  the  rate  of  fifteen 
hundred  dollars  per  annum.  This  seemed  a  large 
amount,  but  was  not  more  than  T  was  receiving  in 
Tuskaloosa;  indeed,  not  as  much,  for  there  my  salary 
was  fifteen  hundred  dollars  and  a  house,  the  rent  of 
which  was  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars  per 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  221 

annum.  Shortly  after  I  preached  my  farewell  ser- 
mon to  a  crowded  house,  and  took  my  leave  of  a 
people  who  had  uniformly  shown  me  much  kindness, 
and  to  whom  I  had  ever  been  most  affectionately 
attached. 

Leaving  my  family  as  boarders  mth  Mr.  C,  and 
my  two  sons  as  students  at  the  school  of  which  he 
had  charge,  I  assumed  the  character  of  a  missionary; 
but  having  received  pressing  invitations  first  to  visit 
Florence,  Tuscumbia,  Memphis  and  Courtland — with 
the  cordial  approbation  of  the  Committee  appointed 
by  Presbytery  to  superintend  and  direct  my  move- 
ments, I  went  to  the  places  above  named,  and 
preached  in  each  place  some  eight  or  ten  days.  In 
each  place  there  was  a  very  pleasing  work  of  grace ; 
the  hopeful  converts  averaging  perhaps  some  twenty- 
five  for  each  meeting.  Some  cases  of  conversion 
were  very  remarkable,  particularly  that  of  Mr.  L., 
who  has  since  become  a  useful  minister  of  our  faith 
and  order;    Mr.  H.,  who   subsequently   became  an 

elder  of  the  church  in  the  same  place,  and  Mr. , 

of  Memphis,  who,  from  being  a  very  wicked  man, 
became  a  very  zealous  member  of  the  Methodist 
Church.  This  latter  gentleman  requested  a  copy  of 
my  sermon  that  had  been  the  means  of  his  conver- 
sion, and  as  a  compliment,  paid  my  passage,  twenty- 
five  dollars,  to  New  Orleans. 

In  going  to  Texas,  Dr.  Baker  bore  with  him  a 
letter  of  introduction  to  General  Sam.  Houston,  from 
Andrew  Jackson,  with  whom  he  had  been  so  cor- 
dially associated  in  Washington  city.  This  letter 
now  lies  before  the  compiler  of  this  volume,  every 
19* 


222  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

rugged  line  breathing  the  wonted  fire  of  the  old  hero 
in  its  expression  of  esteem  and  aifection  toward  the 
bearer. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  he  addressed  the  fol- 
lowing letters  home: 

"FxoRENCE,  Nowmber  25th,  1839, 

"My  dear  Eliza — Remember  what  is  written  in 
God's  blessed  book,  'Be  carefid.  for  nothing,'  &c. 
I  am  always  happy.  You  know  my  plan  is  to  com- 
mit every  thing  to  the  Lord,  and  always  look  upon 
the  bright  side.  You  may  rest  assured  this  is  the 
best  way.  Our  meeting  here  has  proved  a  blessed 
one;  perhaps  about  thirty  hopefully  converted;  most 
of  them  are  young  men  and  women.  Last  night  I 
preached  my  last  sermon,  thirty-three  in  all.  Thank 
the  Lord,  he  prospers  me,  and  makes  me  a  happy 
man." 

"TrscuMBiA,  December  4th,  1S39. 

"Last  Sabbath  we  had  pretty  good  weather,  and 
walking  a  little  better.  There  was  great  stillness 
and  solemnity.  The  Lord,  I  trust,  has  commenced  a 
good  work  in  this  place.  Five  persons  have  already 
professed  conversion." 

"CouRTLAND,  December  15th,  1839. 

"  My  beloved  Daughter — I  have  only  a  few  mo- 
ments to  write.  We  have  had  a  blessed  meeting  in 
Tuscumbia;  about  eighteen  or  twenty  hopefully  con- 
verted, and  amongst  them  some  of  the  most  noted 
persons  in  the  place.  Dr.  H.,  for  example,  one  of 
my  old  pupils,  and  Mr.  M.,  a  lawyer  of  distinction. 
Some  think  that  half  the  community  are  more  or  less 
impressed.     We  have  also  had  a  blessed  meeting  in 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  223 

this  place ;  converts  here  perhaps  ten  or  twelve ;  very 
interesting  persons,  indeed,  and  a  great  many  more 
very  anxious.  You  will  observe  the  churches  in 
both  places  are  small  and  feeble,  and  therefore  the 
revivals  considered  very  great.  Brother  W.  says 
he  has  not  witnessed  such  an  interesting  meeting 
for  three  years.  Every  sermon  seems  to  be  blessed. 
To  God  be  all  the  glory!  It  is  now  Sunday  night, 
past  ten  o'clock.  To-morrow  I  am  to  preach  again 
in  this  place  in  the  morning,  and  at  Tuscumbia 
to-morrow  night.  The  next  night  I  am  to  preach 
in  Florence,  and  the  next  morning  I  am  to  set  off 
about  two  o'clock  in  the  stage  for  Memphis,  where 
I  expect  to  be  on  Friday,  and  thence  I  am  to  go  in 
a  steamboat  to  New  Orleans.  I  hope  to  reach  Gal- 
veston about  the  28th  instant.  I  hope,  my  dear 
child,  you  will  always  be  very  attentive  to  your 
mother,  and  I  wish  you  to  charge  your  brothers  to 
do  the  same.  I  hope  they  will  distinguish  them- 
selves as  amiable  and  affectionate  sons. 

"  I  am  in  great  haste.  May  God  bless  you.  Fare- 
well.    Love  to  all. 

"  Your  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

^'Monday  Morning.  The  bell  will  ring  in  a 
few  minutes.  I  have  had  the  satisfaction  of  see- 
ing Captain  S.,  who  commanded  a  company  under 
the  ill-fated  Fannin,  in  Texas.  You  may  recollect, 
that  after  fighting  bravely,  being  overpowered  by 
numbers,  they  capitulated,  and  then  were  led  forth, 
and  cruelly  massacred  in  cold  blood.  Captain  S. 
escaped  as  it  were  by  a  miracle.     His  account  of 


224  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

the  matter  possesses  thrilling  interest.  In  the  bat- 
tle he  had  the  blood  of  three  men  who  were  killed 
sprinkled  upon  him,  and  he  received  a  ball  in  his 
cheek ;  the  scar  is  still  visible.  He  has  given  me  a 
world  of  information  about  Texas.  I  think  I  shall 
probably  be  pleased  with  the  country;  at  any  rate,  I 
am  very  glad  that  I  am  going  there  as  a  missionary 
agent.  I  can  assure  you  I  have  been  very  impatient 
to  be  there,  and  nothing  but  an  imperious  sense  of 
duty  could  have  detained  me  in  this  region  of  coun- 
try so  long.  I  expect  to  reach  Texas  just  in  time  to 
secure  the  land,  and  that  is, all.  I  know  I  run  some 
risk  of  losing  it,  but  circumstances  were  such  I  was 
willing  to  run  the  risk.*  God's  name  has  been  glo- 
rified in  the  conversion  of  many  precious  souls  in 
this  region  by  my  instrumentality,  and  that  will 
comfort  me.    Once  more,  adieu. 

Daniel  Baker." 

Memphis,  December  2lst,  1839. 

"My  dear  Eliza — I  received  your  peculiarly 
interesting  letter  of  the  5th  inst.  I  am  glad  to 
find  that  you  are  so  cheerful.  You  know  my  dis- 
position. I  cannot  away  with  complainings  and  a 
disposition  to  look  upon  the  dark  side  of  things.  If 
you  wish  to  please  me,  and  make  your  husband 
happy,  be  always  cheerful.  Indulge  in  no  corroding 
cares.  You  recollect  the  passage  of  Scripture  which 
I  have  so  often  quoted,  '  Be  careful  for  nothing,'  &c. 
If  at  any  time  you  have  any  difficulties  or  burdens, 
cast  them  upon  the  Lord;   as  it  is  said,  'In  every 

•  The  State  of  Texas  had  promised  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land 
to  every  head  of  a  family  settling  in  the  State  before  January  1st,  1840. 


REV.    DANIEL  BAKER,   D.  D.  225 

thing,  by  prayer  and  supplication,  with  thanksgiv- 
ings, let  your  request  be  made  known  unto  God.' 
This  is  my  plan,  aiid  I  find  it  a  good  one.  "What  is 
the  use  of  having  our  energies  crippled,  and  our 
usefulness  impaired  by  indulging  in  anxieties  which 
are  of  no  use  to  soul  or  body,  and  benefit  no  one. 
Let  this  be  your  motto — Be  cheerful  and  devout. 
These  things  are  by  no  means  inconsistent. 

"On  passing  through  Tuscumbia  and  Florence,  in 
coming  to  this  place,  I  was  received  almost  as  an 
angel  of  God.  Every  body  seemed  to  be  glad  to  see 
me,  and  hear  me  preach  once  more.  Their  compli- 
mentary remarks  and  demonstrations  of  kindness 
were  almost  more  than  I  could  bear.  Amongst 
other  expressions  of  love  and  friendship,  I  received 
the  following  lines,  written  by  Mrs.  Caroline  Lee 
Hentz,  a  lady  of  high  literary  fame,  whose  husband, 
hitherto  quite  a  sceptic,  was  numbered  amongst  the 
Florentine  converts. 

'Wilt  thou  take  our  parting  blessing, 
Servant  of  the  God  we  love : 
Purest  bliss,  the  soul  possessing, 
Image  here,  the  bliss  above. 

Round  the  household  altar  bending, 

On  our  hearts  thy  name  we  bear; 
With  our  holiest  memories  blending. 

Hallowed  and  embalmed  in  prayer. 

When,  in  God's  own  temple  meeting, 

Zion's  children  bow  the  knee, 
Echo  still,  thy  words  repeating. 

Turns  our  grateful  thoughts  to  thoe. 

Thou  to  other  climes  art  going, 

Jesus'  dying  love  to  tell; 
May  salvation  round,thee  flowing, 

Like  the  waves  of  ocean  swell. 


226  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

Fare  thee  well,  beloved  stranger, 

Since  from  us  thy  steps  must  roam; 
Angels  guard  thy  life  from  danger, 

Till  their  wings  shall  bear  thee  home.' 

"The  converts,  it  seems,  are  all  very  clear  and 
very  happy,  and  the  impression  upon  the  community 
in  general  most  delightful.  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my 
soul!  *  *  *  This  was  certainly  kind,  and  I  coidd 
not  help  admiring  their  ingenuity  in  endeavouring  to 
have  the  amount  secured  to  the  benefit  of  my  family ; 
but  I  must  report  it  to  the  Committee,  notwithstand- 
ing, as  also  a  twenty  dollar  bill,  received  in  a  private 
letter  from  an  individual,  a  rich  man,  who,  with  a 
son,  was  hopefully  converted.  Besides  all  this,  my 
Courtland  friends  made  me  a  present  of  sixty-seven 
dollars,  and  brother  S.  handed  over  to  me  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-four  dollars  and  fifty  cents,  which 
he  said  had  been  raised  expressly  for  my  individual 
benefit.  I  left  Florence  on  Wednesday  morning 
last,  very  early,  and  reached  this  place  last  evening. 
I  made  an  effort  to  get  off,  but  at  last  found  it  neces- 
sary (in  order  not  to  travel  on  the  Sabbath)  to  spend 
the  Sabbath  in  this  place.  It  is  now  very  doubtful 
whether  I  can  get  into  Texas  in  time  to  secure  the 
land;  but  I  must  remember  the  Sabbath-day,  to 
keep  it  holy,  cost  what  it  may.  If  I  lose  the  land, 
the  Lord,  if  he  sees  proper,  can  make  it  up  to  me  in 
a  thousand  different  ways. 

''Monday  Morning,  23d.  I  preached  for  brother 
H.,  an  old  acquaintance,  three  times  yesterday,  and 
such  was  the  impression  produced,  that  a  very  great 
desire  has  been  expressed  that  I  should  remain 
during  the  week,  and  I  have  consented.  So,  farewell 
Texas  land;  well,  let  it  go;  if  the  Lord  will  give 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  227 

me  souls  for  my  hire  in  this  place,  that  will  do. 
Tell  dear  Agnes  to  be  sure  pa  loves  her,  and  she 
shall  have  the  ring.     Love  to  all. 

"Yours  ever,  Daniel  Baker." 


(to  his  sons.) 

"Memphis,  Jan.  2d,  1840. 

"  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  I  am  not  in  Texas  yet. 
I  have,  by  earnest  solicitation,  been  detained  here 
preaching  the  gospel  for  the  last  ten  days.  We  have 
had  much  unfavourable  weather,  and  the  streets 
terribly  muddy;  but  the  people  have  turned  out 
wonderfully  every  night,  chiefly  men;  and  there  has 
been,  it  seems,  a  very  general  and  deep  impression 
made  upon  the  community,  and  the  converts  are 
now  multiplying,  I  hope,  every  day.  May  the 
Lord  grant  us  a  pentecostal  time  indeed.  I  think 
I  am  one  of  the  happiest  men  on  earth.  I  have 
a  good  Master,  and  his  service  is  perfect  freedom, 
is  delightful.  I  do  hope,  my  sons,  that  when  I  go 
the  way  of  all  the  earth,  one  or  both  of  you  will 
take  my  place  in  the  gospel  ministry. 

"  Gen.  Jackson  is  here,  on  his  way  to  New  Orleans. 
I  saw  him  yesterday.  He  seemed  glad  to  see  me. 
While  the  room  was  full  of  gentlemen,  who  crowded 
in  to  see  him,  he  held  my  hand  a  long  time,  and 
then  invited  me  to  sit  down  by  him,  and  said,  in  a 
tremulous  way,  'If  Mrs.  Jackson  was  alive,  she 
would  be  very  glad  to  see  you,  sir.'  General  Jack- 
son is  in  pretty  good  health,  but  is  much  withered. 
He  has,  however,  an  exceedingly  venerable  appear- 
ance.    I  have  preached  perhaps  eighty  times  since  I 


228  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

set  out  for  Florence.  I  am  just  as  fresh  as  if  I  had 
not  preached  a  sermon.     Bless  the  Lord!" 

From  the  narrative. 

On  reaching  New  Orleans,  it  was  my  intention  to 
go  on  immediately  to  Galveston,  Texas;  but  before 
an  opportunity  was  afforded,  a  pressing  invitation 
came  from  the  Eev.  W.  Hamilton,  to  come  to  aid 
him  in  Mobile,  where  a  precious  work  of  grace  was 
in  progress.  I  thought  I  had  already  delayed  too 
long  my  intended  mission  into  Texas,  but  Dr.  John 
Breckinridge,  who  was  at  that  time  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  in  New  Orleans,  advised  me  by 
all  means  to  go  to  Mobile.  I  accordingly  went,  and 
have  reason  to  hope  that  my  labours  there  were  not 
in  vain  in  the  Lord.  But  now  I  am  reminded  of  the 
fact,  that  some  two  years  before  this,  by  invitation, 
I  assisted  the  Rev.  Joel  Parker  in  holding  a  pro- 
tracted meeting  in  the  Presbyterian  church  in  New 
Orleans,  of  which  at  that  time  he  was  pastor.  This 
meeting  was  much  blessed,  and  some  of  the  substan- 
tial fruits  remain  even  to  the  present  time;  one  a 
converted  infidel;  one  a  merchant;  one  who  has 
since  became  a  minister  of  the  gospel;  and  one  a 
gentleman  of  some  considerable  note  in  the  Epis- 
copal Church. 

After  preaching  about  one  week  for  Dr.  H.  in 
Mobile,  with  some  considerable  success,  I  hope,  I 
returned  to  New  Orleans,  and  thence  by  the  first 
steamer  to  Galveston;  the  boat,  I  think  was  named 
the  New  York.  Coming  in  view  of  Galveston  Island, 
February  26th,  1840,  I  was  surprised  to  see  the 
island  so  low  and  flat,  like  a  chip  floating  on  the 
surface  of  the  water ;  and  on  landing,  the  first  thing 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  229 

that  particularly  attracted  my  attention  was  a  group 
of  tippling  houses  on  the  strand  or  wharf,  near 
McKinney's  pier.  My  first  business  was  to  find  out 
the  "excellent  of  the  earth."  Christians  here  were 
very  few;  emphatically  like  "angels'  visits,  few  and 
far  between."  By  invitation,  I  went  to  the  home  of 
Dr.  Roberts,  who,  in  his  beautiful  house,  for  several 
days  treated  me  with  great  kindness  and  hospitality. 
The  first  efibrt  to  do  good  was  to  distribute  tracts,  a 
goodly  number  of  which  I  had  brought  with  me; 
and,  as  soon  as  arrangements  could  be  made,  I 
preached  daily  during  the  week,  and  three  times  on 
the  Sabbath,  being  careful  also  to  visit  and  address 
the  Sabbath-school,  which  I  was  happy  to  find  already 
established,  and  in  a  comparatively  flourishing  state. 
I  believe  I  was  instrumental  in  increasing  the  num- 
ber of  attendants  on  the  Sabbath-school  in  this  way. 
Walking  along  the  streets  of  Galveston  on  a  Sab- 
bath day,  I  came  up  to  a  large  group  of  boys  who 
were  playing  marbles.  " Heigh!  boys,"  said  I,  "play- 
ing marbles  on  Sunday!"  "O,  we  are  in  Texas," 
several  of  them  replied.  "Well,  but  boys,"  replied 
I,  "  don't  you  know  that  God  can  see  you  in  Texas, 
as  well  as  in  the  States'?"  Putting  my  hand  in  my 
pocket,  I  pulled  out  a  good  many  little  books,  and, 
whilst  giving,  I  talked  very  kindly  to  the  boys ;  and 
winding  up,  I  pleasantly  remarked,  "  Boys,  it  is  not 
right  to  play  marbles  on  Sunday;  you  had  better  go 
to  Sunday-school — didn*'t  you  know  it  ] — there  is  one 
yonder" — pointing  to  the  place.  I  then  left  them, 
bidding  them  good-by;  but  I  had  gone  only  a  few 
steps  when  several  of  them  called  to  me  aloud,  and 
said,  "We  won't  play  marbles  any  more  on  Sunday; 
20 


230  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF  THE 

we  will  go  to  Sunday-school,  sir."  "Heaven  bless 
the  boys  of  Texas,"  thinks  I  to  myself,  "they  only 
need  to  be  taught  what  is  right." 

One  day  I  took  a  stroll  out  of  town,  and  whilst 
walking  on  the  beach  on  the  south .  side  of  the 
island,  I  unexpectedly  came  up  to  a  military  station, 
where  some  thirty  soldiers  were  on  the  look-out  for 
Mexicans,  who  were  expected  to  invade  Texas  about 
this  time.  On  conversing  with  them  I  found  that 
no  one  had  ever  preached  to  them,  or  given  them  a 
Bible,  or  tract,  or  anything  of  the  kind.  Each  could, 
with  but  too  much  truth,  say.  No  man  cared  for  my 
soul.  Having  obtained  permission  from  the  com- 
mander, who  was  very  polite,  I  distributed  tracts 
amongst  them,  and  preached  to  them  near  the  strand, 
in  the  open  air.  As  there  were  no  seats  for  their 
accommodation,  they  stood  before  me  in  military 
order.  In  the  midst  of  my  discourse,  a  new  thought 
occurred,  and  leaving  my  theme,  I  addressed  them  to 
this  effect:  "Soldiers,  here  you  are,  in  this  new  and 
wild  country,  far  away  from  the  means  of  grace.  I 
think  it  likely  that  you  are  all  quite  careless  and 
unconcerned  about  your  soul's  salvation.  And  yet, 
after  all,  I  wonder  if  some  of  you  have  not  pious 
mothejs  in  the  old  States,  who  love  you,  and  pray 
for  you,  and  weep  over  you."  Passing  my  eyes 
rapidly  over  the  faces  of  the  soldiers,  I  noticed  one 
particularly  who  was  prodigiously  wrought  upon. 
His  lips  quivered;  every  muscle  was  in  motion; 
tears  ran  down  his  cheeks.  Much  excited  myself, 
said  I,  "  Soldier,  come  here,  I  want  to  talk  to  you." 
Leaving  the  ranks,  he  came  to  me,  and  we  two  re- 
tiring a  short  distance,  I  said  to  him,  "  Soldier,  have 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  231 

you  not  a  pious  mother  in  the  States'?"  Bursting 
into  tears,  he  rephed,  "  Yes,  sir,  a  very  pious  mother, 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  Church  in  Pennsylvania." 
As  I  spoke  to  him  about  the  blessed  Saviour,  and  the 
way  of  salvation  through  him,  he  wept  aloud — so 
loud  that  his  voice  might  have  been  heard  for  several 
hundred  yards.  After  giving  such  instruction  and 
encouragement  as  I  thought  the  case  called  for,  and 
after  finishing  the  discourse  which  I  had  commenced, 
I  returned  to  my  lodgings  in  Galveston.  Two  days 
after,  I  visited  the  same  military  station  again,  and 
had  the  happiness  to  find  that  soldier  rejoicing  in 
Christ.  His  mother's  prayers,  it  would  seem,  have 
been  answered,  and  I,  as  a  missionary,  was  sent  into 
this  frontier  land  to  call  home  a  wandering  son.  To 
God  be  all  the  praise !  This,  it  seems,  was  the  first 
person  who  ever  professed  conversion  on  Galveston 
Island. 

The  following  letters  were  written  at  this  period. 

Galveston,  Texas,  Feb.  9lh,  1840. 

''Dear  Brother  Galloway — Here  I  am  in  Texas! 
Appointed  by  the  Assembly's  Board,  and  adopted  by 
the  Presbytery  of  Tuskaloosa  as  their  missionary,  I 
arrived  at  this  place  a  few  days  ago.  It  is  something 
like  ten  weeks  since  I  set  out  for  this  land  of  pro- 
mise, but  I  have  taken  a  very  circuitous  route; 
besides,  on  my  way,  I  have  attended  no  less  than  five 
protracted  meetings,  all  of  which,  I  am  happy  to  say, 
it  pleased  God  to  bless.  In  one  place  there  were 
about  fourteen  hopeful  converts;  in  another  seven- 
teen; in  a  third,  fourteen;  in  a  fourth,  thirty;  and 
in  the  last  place  (Mobile)  about  forty.     Since  my 


232  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

arrival  in  Galveston  I  have  preached  four  sermons ; 
and  I  am  free  to  say,  I  never  saw  a  people  who 
seemed  to  set  a  higher  value  upon  a  preached  gospel. 
The  school-room  in  which  preaching  is  held  is  not 
large,  to  be  sure,  but  it  is  crowded  every  time.  A 
Presbyterian  church  was  recently  formed  here,  con- 
sisting of  about  twenty  members,  having  two  elders  ; 
and  they  have  given  an  invitation  to  brother  McCul- 
lough  to  preach  to  them  for  six  months.  Some  five 
months  ago  the  citizens  of  Galveston  had  a  meeting, 
and  offered  fifty  dollars  (Texas  money)  a  Sabbath  to 
any  evangelical  minister  who  would  preach  to  them  ; 
the  money,  however,  is  not  worth  more  than  about 
twenty-five  cents  in  the  dollar. 

"  Galveston  is  a  very  flourishing  town.  Two  years 
ago  there  were  not  more  than  perhaps  three  houses; 
there  are  now,  it  may  be,  three  hundred.  There  are 
as  many,  I  suppose,  as  ten  or  fifteen  square-rigged 
vessels  in  port,  besides  small  craft.  Indeed,  Galveston 
is,  no  doubt,  destined  to  be  a  very  important  com- 
mercial seaport.  The  island  is  about  twenty-eight 
miles  in  length,  by  two  in  breadth.  It  is  low  and 
level.  I  am  told  that  there  are  three  clusters  of  trees 
on  the  island,  but  I  have  not  yet  seen  a  single  one — 
not  even  a  bush  or  shrub;  not  even  a  switch,  to 
switch  little  urchins  with.  The  climate,  however,  is 
said  to  be  delightful;  and  a  continued  fresh  sea- 
breeze,  I  am  told,  makes  it  very  pleasant  in  summer. 
Last  fall  there  were  many  deaths  in  Galveston  by 
yellow  fever.  Strangers  are  coming  into  Texas  in 
great  crowds,  so  that  the  population,  it  is  supposed, 
already  exceeds  one  hundred  thousand  souls.  There 
is   no   apprehension    now  in    relation   to    Mexico, 


REY.   DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  233 

Indeed,  the  Texans,  in  case  of  conflict,  would  in 
all  probability  push  their  conquest  to  the  very  city 
of  Mexico.  Every  thing  now  is  extravagantly  high. 
"I  expect  soon  to  visit  the  interior,  and  in  the 
course  of  a  few  months  shall  be  better  able  to  form 
an  idea  of  the  country.  I  do  not  think,  however,  I 
shall  like  this  country  as  a  permanent  residence.  I 
am  now  acting  only  as  a  sort  of  missionary  agent; 
I  am  to  preach  wherever  I  can  get  any  persons  to 
preach  to,  and  organize  churches,  and  form  temper- 
ance societies.  Sabbath-schools,  «&c.,  &c.  There  are, 
I  think,  about  six  Presbyterian  ministers  in  Texas, 
and  a  much  larger  number  of  the  Methodist  commu- 
nion; how  many  Baptists  I  cannot  say;  and,  so  far 
as  I  know,  not  a  single  Episcopalian  yet.  Congress 
has  just  adjourned,  after  having  adopted  some  very 
wise  regulations,  which,  it  is  thought,  will  give  a 
new  spring  to  the  prosperity  of  the  country. 

"Yours,  as  ever,  Daniel  Baker." 

(to  his  wife.) 

"Galvestok,  February  21  st,  1840. 

"My  DEAREST  E.— Well,  you  see  I  am  in  Texas 
at  last!  And  you  wish  to  know  my  opinion  of 
Galveston,  Texas,  &c.  My  opinion  is  this;  some 
have  overrated,  and  some  have  underrated  this  land 
of  promise.  Some  have  looked  at  it  with  'jaundiced 
eyes,'  and  some  through  'glorification  spectacles.' 
Having  neither  jamidiced  eyes  nor  glorification  spec- 
tacles, I  think,  therefore,  I  can  and  do  take  a  very 
sober  and  correct  view  of  matters. 

We  have,  from  the  house  in  which  I  lodge,  a  very 
extensive  view  of  the  ocean  or  gulf,  and  the  roaring 
20* 


234  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

of  the  surf  seems  everlasting.  I  took  a  long  stroll 
upon  the  beach  shortly  after  my  arrival.  I  suppose 
I  walked  four  miles  upon  the  hard  white  sand,  and 
would  occasionally  put  my  foot  in  the  foam  of  the 
salt  wave ;  and  sometimes  for  my  amusement,  would 
assume  the  authority  of  Canute  of  England,  and  with 
the  same  success.  Moreover,  I  woidd,  with  my 
walking  cane,  attempt  to  pin  down  the  wave,  rolling 
upward  on  the  smooth  sloping  beach,  but  in  its 
recoil,  it  seemed  to  laugh  at  the  attempt;  and  I 
thought  this  was  very  much  like  the  attempt  to  fas- 
ten conviction  upon  sinful  hearts;  they  slide  away! 
Galveston  is  a  new  and  very  flourishing  town  on  the 
eastern  end  of  the  Island.  It  has  already  a  popula- 
tion of  about  three  thousand,  and  is  increasing  every 
day.  A  prodigious  number  of  houses  have  gone  up 
within  a  few  months  past.  They  are  generally 
frame  buildings,  one  and  two  stories,  painted  white, 
and  some  of  them  are  very  neat.  They  are  built  in 
such  numbers,  and  in  so  short  a  space  of  time,  that 
it  appears  almost  as  if  it  were  done  by  a  company  of 
fairies,  working  at  night. 

"  There  are  a  goodly  number  of  merchant  vessels 
in  port;  one  iron  ship  just  from  England,  and  nearly 
the  whole  of  the  Texan  navy.  I  preached  on  board 
of  the  Commodore's  vessel  last  Sabbath,  to  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty,  officers  and  men.  There  is 
no  church  yet  erected,  but  preaching  is  held  some- 
times in  a  school-room,  and  sometimes  in  the  court- 
house. I  have  preached  some  fifteen  or  twenty 
sermons  already,  to  houses  generally  crowded,  and 
we  should  probably  have  twice  as  many  out,  if  we 
could   accommodate   them.      Two  or  three  persons 


RET.  DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  235 

have,  I  trust,  been  this  week  soundly  converted 
under  my  preaching.  They  are,  I  believe,  the  very 
first  cases  of  conversion  that  ever  took  place  on  the 
island.  Thank  the  Lord  for  this  great  honour  con- 
ferred upon  me,  a  poor,  unworthy  instrument !  One 
of  the  persons  spoken  of,  is  a  lady  of  high  respecta- 
bility, who  had  been  on  the  island  about  three  years, 
and  had  never  heard  a  single  sermon  before  she 
heard  me,  except  one  from  a  Catholic  priest  some 
time  ago.  And  strange  to  tell,  this  first  sermon 
she  heard  me  preach  was  blessed  to  her  awakening. 
She  has  since  obtained  a  hope,  and  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  and  satisfactory  cases  of  conversion 
I  ever  knew  in  all  my  life. 

"  Tuesday^  2bth.  Last  Sabbath  we  had  a  very 
interesting  communion  occasion.  Four  were  added 
to  the  church  on  profession,  two  of  whom  were 
publicly  baptized.  This  was  the  first  communion 
season  of  the  Presbyterian  church  on  the  island. 
I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  brother  Allen  from 
Houston  this  morning.  To-morrow  I  expect  to  set 
out  for  that  place.  I  shall  preach  in  the  most 
populous  towns  of  this  Kepublic,  until  the  roads 
become  good,  and  then  expect  to  labour  in  the 
country.  My  health,  as  usual,  is  v^ery  good,  and  I 
pass  my  time  very  agreeably;  only  I  cannot  help 
thinking,  at  times,  about  the  loved  ones  left  behind. 
You  know  my  disposition,  however,  to  turn  away 
from  all  needless  anxieties,  and  to  look  upon  the 
path  of  duty,  wherever  it  may  lead,  as  a  pleasant 
one,  strewed  with  fiowers.  Li  this  way  I  have 
more  vigour,  and  am  better  able  to  serve  my  God. 
When  absent,  I  take  pleasure  in  preaching;  when 


236  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

I  return,  I  anticipate  double  pleasure  in  meeting 
'wife,  children,  and  friends.'  Come  what  will,  God 
helping  me,  I  am  resolved  to  be  happy. 

"  That  Eoman  Catholic  lady,  in  her  expressions  of 
gratitude,  has  given  me  a  rich  reward  for  my  labours 
here;  and  so  has  an  interesting  young  man  from 
Switzerland,  who  came  up  to  me  in  the  streets  the 
other  day,  and  with  much  feeling  told  me  how  greatly 
the  Lord  had  blessed  my  preaching  to  his  soul.  And 
there  is  the  case  of  a  Texan  soldier,  a  poor  wanderer, 
brought  back  by  my  instrumentality,  that  has  touched 
my  heart,  insomuch  that  I  thought  it  well  I  had  come 
all  the  way  to  Texas,  if  it  were  only  for  the  sake  of 
that  poor  wandering  sheep.  Bless  the  Lord ! 
"Yours,  as  ever, 

Daniel  Baker." 

The  narrative  continues. 

I  remained  in  the  city  of  Galveston,  I  think,  about 
three  or  four  weeks,  preaching  as  I  had  opportunity. 
On  the  last  Sabbath  we  had  a  communion  season,  at 
which  time  some  six  or  seven  professed  conversion, 
and  were  admitted  to  the  table  of  the  Lord;  two  of 
whom  were  publicly  baptized  according  to  the  forms 
of  our  Church ;  and  these  were  the  first  who  had  ever 
been  baptized  on  that  island  by  any  Protestant  deno- 
mination. In  the  matter  of  the  administration  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,  our  Baptist  brethren  had  the 
honour  of  preceding  us  two  weeks,  Hev.  Mr.  Huckins 
officiating  on  the  occasion.  When  I  first  w^nt  to 
Galveston,  I  found  there  the  Rev.  John  McCullough, 
who,  under  great  disadvantages,  had  been  preaching 
as  he  had  opportunity.     There  were  a  few  old  mem- 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  237 

bers  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  but  brother  McCul- 
lough  had  not  been  able  at  that  time  to  estabUsh  or 
organize  a  Presbyterian  church.  This,  however,  was 
done  shortly  after  my  departure. 

A  few  days  before  I  reached  Galveston,  the  E,ev. 
W.  L.  McCalla  also  arrived,  and  not  choosing,  it 
would  seem,  to  go  into  any  public  house  or  private 
family,  pitched  his  tent  out  of  town,  and  near  the 
strand.  After  living  in  this  way  for  some  time,  he 
was  finally  found  out  by  Dr.  E,.,  who  so  kindly  enter- 
tained me,  and  under  his  hospitable  roof  Mr.  Mx^Calla 
remained  for  several  days.  Mr.  McCalla  did  not,  I 
believe,  visit  Texas  as  a  missionary,  but  to  see  the 
country,  and  do  what  he  could  to  promote  the  cause 
of  education.  By  his  efforts  a  public  meeting  of  the 
friends  of  education  was  held  in  Galveston.  I  was 
present,  but  said  little  or  nothing.  Mr.  McCalla 
delivered  an  elaborate  address,  and  wound  up  with 
a  resolution  to  memorialize  the  Congress  of  the  Re- 
public to  establish  a  University  in  Galveston.  The 
motion  prevailed,  but  came  to  nought,  as  might  have 
been  expected,  for  Galveston  was  certainly  not  a 
proper  location  for  such  an  institution. 

On  leaving  Galveston,  I  went  in  the  steamboat  to 
Houston.  After  passing  over  the  bay,  we  came  to 
the  junction  of  Buffalo  Bayou  and  the  San  Jacinto, 
made  memorable  by  the  battle-field,  near  at  hand, 
where  the  decisive  battle  was  fought  which  secured 
independence  to  the  Republic.  In  going  up  the 
bayou  I  was  struck  unfavourably,  I  confess,  with 
the  sluggishness  of  the  water,  the  narrowness  of  the 
bayou,  and  the  diminutiveness  of  the  forest  trees 
upon  its  borders. 


238  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF   THE 

On  reaching  Houston,  I  found  the  place  not  hand- 
some, and  the  streets  very  muddy.  It  was  like 
treading  mortar.  I  was,  however,  very  hospitably 
entertained  by  Dr.  C.  and  his  excellent  lady.  They 
had  four  small  children,  two  sons  and  two  daughters, 
who  appeared  to  me  the  best  behaved  children  I  had 
ever  seen  in  all  my  life.  On  asking  Mrs.  C,  at  a 
subsequent  period,  how  it  came  to  pass,  and  express- 
ing my  conviction  that  there  must  be  some  secret 
about  the  matter,  she  replied,  "No  secret,  sir,  except 
I  control  myself"  Ah,  thinks  I  to  myself,  that  is 
the  secret ;  for  if  parents  do  not  govern  themselves, 
they  never  can  govern  their  children.  I  remained 
in  Houston,  preaching  and  distributing  tracts,  for 
about  ten  days.  The  place  of  preaching  was  the  old 
capitol.  The  people  turned  out  extremely  well,  and 
I  think  some  five  or  six  persons  professed  conversion. 
Amongst  those  much  wrought  upon,  was  General 
Mosely  Baker,  whose  residence  was  on  the  bay,  but 
was  on  a  visit  to  Houston.  He  did  not  at  that  time 
profess  conversion,  but  did  some  time  after,  and 
became  a  preacher  in  the  Methodist  connection.  I 
found  in  Houston  the  Rev.  W.  Y.  Allen,  who  had 
for  some  time  been  labouring  very  faithfully,  and 
had  organized  a  Presbyterian  church  on  March  31st, 
1839,  with  ten  members;  but  without  receiving 
scarcely  any  support  either  from  the  Board  of  Mis- 
sions or  the  people  to  whom  he  preached.  This  good 
man  drew  upon  his  own  resources  until  they  were 
almost  entirely  exhausted.  Just  as  I  was  about 
leaving  the  place,  the  llev.  Mr.  F.,  a  Methodist 
preacher,  came  and  took  charge  of  the  few  members 
of  the  Methodist  church,  organizing  them  into  a  con- 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  .239 

gregation,  with  the  intention  of  ministering  to  them 
for  one  year.  I  heard  him  preach  his  first  sermon  in 
Houston,  with  which  I  was  much  pleased.  Here  I 
think  I  first  met  with  the  Rev.  B.  Chase,  of  whom 
I  shall  have  something  more  to  say  in  a  subsequent 
part  of  this  my  autobiography. 

(to  his  little  daughter.) 

"Houston,  Texas,  March  9th,  1840. 

"My  DEAR  LITTLE  DAUGHTER — ^Your  father  is  far 
away  in  Texas,  and  yet  he  has  not  forgotten  his 
beloved  Agnes,  left  with  her  mother.  I  have  now 
been  in  Houston  about  ten  days,  and  have  preached 
a  good  many  times;  and  I  hope  several  persons  here 
will  be  for  ever  glad,  and  thankfid  to  their  Maker, 
that  they  ever  saw  my  face  or  heard  my  voice.  I 
am  staying  at  the  house  of  Dr.  C,  who  knew  me 
in  Georgia.  He  and  his  wife  are  very  kind  to  me. 
They  have  four  children.  They  are  very  lovely  chil- 
dren; not  only  pretty,  but  what  is  much  better,  they 
are  very  good.  They  are  so  amiable,  they  are  very 
kind  to  each  other,  and  they  make  their  parents  so 
happy.  They  have  not  quarrelled  once,  nor  grieved 
their  parents  a  single  time  since  I  have  been  here. 
They  are  very  fond  of  singing,  and  I  have  taught 
them  several  Infant-school  songs,  such  as,  '  O,  what 
a  naughty  dog  is  that,'  'I  like  little  pussy,  her  coat  is 
so  warm,'  and  'Poor  little  dog  is  very  good.'  Henry 
and  JosexDh  have  a  very  lively  little  dog  named 
Prince,  and  he  wags  his  tail  and  runs  about  with 
them,  and  seems  to  love  his  little  masters  very  much. 
They  have  made  a  little  wagon,  and  Prince,  properly 
harnessed,  draws  it  very  prettily;  and  what  is  more. 


240  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

if  they  leave  him  in  the  road,  and  say,  '  Prince,  don't 
go  away  till  I  come  back,'  he  will  stand  still;  and 
if  any  other  person  should  call  him  away,  and  say, 
'Prince,  here  is  some  meat  for  you,'  he  won't  budge 
a  peg  until  his  little  masters  come  back.  This  I 
think  is  very  wonderful  for  such  a  lively  little  cur- 
tail, who  is  so  fond  of  frisking  and  running  about. 
I  should  like  you  to  see  these  children  at  their 
sports;  and  they  are  so  fond  of  going  to  Sunday- 
school,  and  reading  some  books  which  I  have  given 
them. 

"  I  talked  to  the  children  the  day  before  yesterday 
May  be  we  had  twenty-five  present ;  they  all  seemed 
to  be  much  pleased,  and  some  of  them  wept  a  good 
deal.  H's  mother  thinks  that  she  is  very  serious, 
and  almost  hopes  that  she  is  a  true  Christian.  O, 
what  a  lovely  and  blessed  thing  it  is  for  a  dear  little 
child  to  be  a  Christian.  When  they  are  in  trouble, 
they  can  have  their  Heavenly  Father  to  comfort 
them,  and  when  they  die,  can  have  angels  to  take 
them  to  heaven,  where  they  will  see  their  blessed 
Jesus,  and  be  happy  for  ever.  O,  I  should  be  so 
glad  to  have  my  dear  Agnes  a  Christian  too.  Your 
father  and  mother,  my  child,  are  going  to  heaven, 
and  it  would  make  us  very  happy  to  have  you  and 
your  sister,  and  all  your  brothers  to  go  with  us,  and 
be  with  us  in  heaven  for  ever. 

"I  have  just  come  from  seeing  a  melancholy  sight; 
a  mother  dead,  and  three  children  weeping  most 
piteously.  There  was  one  little  boy;  he  did  not  cry 
with  the  rest,  for  he  is  too  young  to  know  what  a 
loss  he  has  met  with.  These  children  are  all  poor 
little  orphans  now — father    and  mother  both  dead. 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  241 

O,  my  daughter,  how  thankful  you  should  be  to  God 
that  your  parents  are  still  alive;  but  you  don't  know 
when  God  may  take  them  away,  and  you  be  made 
an  orphan  too.  But  God  does  all  things  well;  and 
we  must  at  all  times  be  pleased  with  all  things  he 
does.  The  mother  that  died  this  morning  was  a 
very  poor  woman ;  she  had  scarcely  anything  to  live 
on,  and  she  died  suddenly;  and  what  is  worse,  it 
seems  she  had  no  religion.  O,  dreadful!  I  looked 
at  her,  and  she  was  almost  black  in  the  face.  I 
believe  that  to  ease  some  pain,  she  took  too  much 
opium  or  laudanum.  Poor  woman !  poor  woman ! — 
she  had  a  sorrowful  time  on  earth,  and  I  fear  it  will 
even  be  worse  with  her  in  the  other  world.  Now, 
if  she  had  been  a  Christian,  O  how  different !  If  she 
had  sorrow  on  earth,  she  would  have  had  joy  in 
heaven.  O,  my  daughter,  be  sure  that  you  be  a 
Christian;  be  sure  you  love  your  blessed  Saviour, 
and  give  him  your  heart  while  you  are  yet  young 
and  tender.  Tell  your  dear  mother  that  I  am  in  fine 
health  and  spirits,  doing  some  good,  I  hope;  but 
many  of  the  people  here  are.  very  wicked;  they 
swear  dreadfully,  and  they  don't  care  much  about 
the  holy  Sabbath;  but  God  can  make  them  good. 
Be  sure  to  write  to  your  papa,  and  teU  mother  she 
must  fill  up  every  nook  and  corner. 

"  I  can't  teU.  whether  I  like  Texas  yet  or  not.  I 
came  from  Galveston  to  this  place  by  water,  and  have 
scarcely  seen  anything  of  the  country  yet.  I  expect 
in  a  few  days  to  buy  a  horse,  and  ride  about  in  all 
directions. 

"  Your  afi'ectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 
21 


242  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

Narrative  continued. 

Purchasing  a  horse,  saddle,  and  bridle,  for  one 
hundred  dollars,  in  the  promissory  notes  of  Texas, 
(worth  at  that  time  only  thirty  dollars,)  I  set  off  for 
Columbia.  The  first  night  I  staid  at  the  house  of 
Major  B.,  an  avowed  infidel,  and  one  who  was  in  the 
habit,  as  I  was  informed,  of  cursing  preachers  and 
lawyers,  and  who  Avas  moreover  in  the  habit  of 
charging  them  more  than  others.  Being  aware  of 
his  peculiar  hatred  of  religion,  I  resolved  to  be  as 
discreet  in  my  behaviour  as  possible.  At  first,  I 
would  not  say  one  word  on  the  subject  of  religion, 
but  spent  the  whole  evening  in  talking  about  the 
affairs  of  Texas,  and  getting  him  to  tell  me  all 
about  its  early  history,  and  Austin,  the  great  Texas 
pioneer.  As  Major  B.  had  been  one  of  Austin's 
colonists,  no  theme  was  more  acceptable;  and  being 
much  pleased  with  the  stranger,  who,  from  a  letter 
which  I  handed,  he  had  ascertained  to  be  a  preacher, 
he  refrained  from  swearing;  and  in  a  good-humoured 
way  at  last  said,  "  Mr.  Baker,  won't  you  take  a 
drink  1"  Here  I  felt  that  we  had  come  to  "the 
narrows,"  but  respectfully  declining  in  as  pleasant 
and  polite  a  way  as  I  knew  how,  the  old  theme  was 
renewed,  and  at  the  proper  hour  we  retired  for  the 
night,  both  in  fine  spirits. 

On  the  next  morning  the  same  theme  was 
brought*  up  again,  and  whilst  we  were  in  the  midst 
of  a  very  pleasant  and  animated  conversation  we 
were  summoned,  to  breakfast.  Reaching  the  chair 
assigned  to  me,  just  at  the  right  time,  I  remarked, 
"Major  B.,  with  your  permission  I  will  ask  a  bless- 
ing"— and  not  allowing  him  time  to  say.  No,  it  was 


I 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  243 

all  over  before  he  was  aware  that  a  thing  had  been 
done  at  his  table  which  probably  had  never  been 
done  before.     A  couple  of  ladies  who  sat  opposite  to 
me  smiled,  and  seemed  as  if  they  would  say,  "  The 
Major  has  been  out-generaled  this  time!"     He  took 
it,  however,  all  in  good  part ;  and  as  we  rose  from 
the  table,  and  were  going  into  another  room  by  our- 
selves, he  remarked,  "I  don't  believe  in  the  Bible, 
sir ;  it  will  do  for  women  and  children.     But  may  be 
I  am  wrong."     "Ah!  Major  B.,   said  I,   "May  be 
you  are  wrong!     My  dear  sir,  if  so,  that  would  be  a 
very  serious   matter."     I   then   went   on   for   some 
fifteen   or   twenty  minutes  with   all   the   force  and 
power  of  language  which  I  could  command,  showing 
him   the  fearful    consequences  of  a   mistake  being 
made  in  a  matter  of  such  immense  importance ;  espe- 
cially as  no  mistakes  could  be  rectified  after  death. 
He  listened  to  me  in  silence,  and  was  as  a  child  sub- 
dued; and  when  I  closed,  he  shook  me  by  the  hand 
most  cordially,  and,  inviting  me  to  call   upon  him 
whenever  I  passed  that  way,  he  bade  me  farewell. 
For   my  fare  he  charged  nothing.     This   case  con- 
vinced me  that  any  man,  however  wicked,  may  be 
approached,  if  it  be  done  in  the  right  way. 

After  leaving  the  house  of  Major  B.,  I  resumed 
my  journey,  having  first  Brazoria  in  view.  Just  as 
I  was  leaving  the  prairie,  and  getting  into  the  timber 
bottom  of  the  Brazos  River,  the  sun  went  down,  the 
the  light  of  day  departed,  and  the  deep  shades  of  a 
dark  night  gathered  around  me.  There  had  been 
much  rain,  and  the  road  was  excessively  boggy. 
Unable  to  see  the  road  or  guide  the  horse  when  on 
his  back,  I  dismounted,  and  leading   my   horse,  I 


24:4:  LIFE    AND    LABOURS   OF   THE 

walked  in  mud  and  water  nearly  half-leg  deep. 
Occasionally  I  would  miss  the  road,  and  get  entan- 
gled among  the  bushes.  Supposing  that  the  ferry 
could  not  be  very  far  off,  I  struggled  on,  hallooing 
as  I  went ;  but  for  some  time  there  was  no  response. 
I  do  confess  I  felt  very  awful  at  the  idea  of  my  being 
obliged  to  spend  the  whole  night  in  such  a  place. 
There  was,  as  far  as  I  could  perceive,  not  even  a  log 
to  rest  upon.  My  horse,  too,  became  almost  entirely 
unmanageable,  being  unwilling  to  go  one  step  fur- 
ther when  he  found  there  was  a  deep  mud-hole  before 
him.  This  was  soitow  upon  sorrow,  trouble  upon 
trouble,  almost  more  than  I  could  stand.  Although 
a  man,  I  could  scarcely  refrain  from  weeping.  At 
length  I  saw  a  torchlight.  O  how  beautiful  was 
that  Ho-ht !  And  I  heard  a  voice — it  was  the  voice 
of  the  ferryman ;  how  sweet  was  that  voice !  "With 
great  joy  I  reached  the  ferry,  was  carried  over  safely, 
and  came  to  the  town.  It  was  court  time,  the  house 
Avas  crowded — and  what  a  vast  amount  of  swearing ! 
To  me  it  seemed  that  every  man  was  profane.  As 
soon  as  I  could  get  some  refreshment,  I  retired;  but 
not  to  sleep.  How  could  I — for  in  the  next  room, 
separated  only  by  a  thin  partition  wall,  were  several 
men  engaged  in  playing  cards.  Their  loud  laughter 
and  profane  swearing  kept  me  awake  until  the  clock 
struck  twelve.  They  then  broke  up,  and  one  of 
them  coming  into  the  room  where  I  slept,  threw 
himself  upon  a  bed,  and  immediately  fell  asleep ;  but 
that  availed  me  nothing,  for  every  now  and  then  he 
would  utter  some  horrid  oath  in  his  sleep!  This 
was  cruel;  after  spending  so  many  hours  in  the 
swamp,  to  be  kept  awake  for  hours  by  men  swearing 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  245 

when  awake,  and  then  for  hours  more  to  have  sleep, 
much  needed  sleep,  driven  from  my  eyes  by  a  man 
in  my  own  room  swearing  while  asleep.  That  man 
was  a  judge.  On  a  certain  occasion,  when  on  the 
bench,  a  lawyer,  who  did  not  wish  the  court  to  be 
held,  made  a  flaming  speech  to  brow-beat  the  judge, 
and  make  him  adjourn  the  court.  Perceiving  that 
the  judge  was  not  inclined  to  yield,  he  drew  out  a 
bowie-knife,  and  laying  it  down  on  the  table,  said, 
"  May  it  please  your  Honour,  this  is  my  argument." 
Upon  this  the  judge  as  promptly  drew  out  his  pistol, 
and  laying  it  also  down,  replied,  "And  this  is  my 
decision!"  So  the  court  was  not  adjourned.  In 
the  States,  this  lawyer  would  probably  have  been 
arrested  for  "  contempt  of  court,"  but  new  countries 
and  old  countries  are  not  the  same. 

As  the  court-house  was  occupied,  and  there  was 
no  other  place  for  preaching,  the  next  morning  I 
went  on  to  Columbia,  about  twelve  miles,  to  the 
house  of  Mrs.  Bell,  a  lady  of  uncommon  excellence, 
who  received  me  very  kindly.  I  remained,  and 
preached  several  sermons  in  a  private  house.  The 
preaching  was  not  without  effect;  several  persons 
were  awakened,  and  amongst  the  converts  was  Mrs. 
B's  daughter  and  a  Miss  P.,  who  subsequently  be- 
came valuable  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
Upon  leaving  Mrs.  B.,  she  insisted  on  my  making 
use  of  one  of  her  horses,  one  much  better  than  my 
own ;  saying  that  she  would  keep  my  "  mustang" 
until  my  return.  From  Columbia  I  went  to  Wash- 
ington, on  the  Brazos.  This  was  considered  a  very 
wicked  place ;  but  I  preached  several  nights  in  suc- 
21* 


216  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

cession  to  some  twenty-five  or  thirty  persons,  who 
seemed  to  listen  with  much  interest  to  what  I  said. 
On  Sunday  morning  I  expected  that  the  room  in 
which  I  preached  Avoukl  be  crowded;  when,  lo!  the 
number  was  very  small,  less  than  on  any  of  the  pre- 
ceding days.  Upon  expressing  my  surprise  to  "mine 
host,"  he  remarked  that  the  alcalde  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  holding  his  court  on  Sunday  morning.  In 
the  afternoon  and  at  night,  however,  the  room  was 
well  filled.  If  I  recollect  right,  there  was  not  a  pro- 
fessor of  religion  in  the  whole  town.  Mr.  Alexander, 
a  Methodist  preacher,  and  a  most  excellent  man,  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  preaching  there  occasionally,  but 
it  was  with  some  opposition.  The  people  generally 
were  not  at  all  religiously  inclined,  and  some  were 
very  wicked,  heaven-daring  scoffers.  In  proof  of  this, 
I  was  told  that  "  mock  prayer-meetings"  were  held 
every  Friday  night ;  and  the  very  week  before  I 
reached  Washington,  an  incident  of  an  awful  kind 
took  place,  which  ought  to  have  struck  terror  into 
every  heart,  but  did  not.  Whilst  the  "  mock-meet- 
ing" was  going  on — whilst  one,  half  drunk,  was 
mimicking  a  certain  preacher,  and  all  present  were 
laughing  immoderately,  a  pistol  in  the  hand  of  one 
accidentally  went  off,  and  one  of  the  number,  pierced 
in  the  heart,  fell  dead  upon  the  floor!  So  sudden  was 
the  death,  the  features  not  having  time  to  relax,  that 
the  body,  when  shrouded,  presented  the  unnatural 
and  fearful  spectacle  of  a  laughing  corpse.  This  was 
enough,  one  would  think,  to  put  a  stop  to  such  exhi- 
bitions of  horrid  impiety,  but  it  did  not ;  for  another 
"mock  meeting"  was  held  one  night  after  I  had 
preached;    at   least,  a  noise    was   heard,  which  the 


247 

friend  with  whom  I  lodged  pronounced,  as  he  be- 
lieved, "another  mock  meeting  affair." 

From  Washington  I  hurried  on  to  Independence, 
and  had  the  pleasure  of  becoming  acquainted  with 
the  Rev.  Hugh  Wilson,  who  formerly  had  been 
labouring  amongst  the  Chickasaw  Indians.  At  his 
request,  I  preached  several  days,  both  at  Independ- 
ence and  in  a  neighbourhood  some  six  or  eight  miles 
distant,  called  the  *'  Chrisman  settlement."  In  the 
former  place,  the  meeting  proved  a  very  solemn  and 
interesting  one ;  but  at  the  latter  we  had  what 
might  be  termed  a  little  revival.  Some  ten  or  twelve 
persons,  if  I  recollect  aright,  professed  conversion, 
some  of  whom  are  living  and  valuable  members 
of  the  church  at  this  time;  and  some  have  fallen 
asleep  in  Jesus.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  cases 
of  conversion  was  that  of  Captain  C,  an  old  Texan, 
one  of  Austin's  colony,  and  a  man  who  had  no 
respect  for  religion,  and  who,  moreover,  was  awfully 
profane.  As  evidence  of  the  first  assertion,  I  will 
state  an  incident.  On  a  certain  day,  a  gentleman 
riding  over  the  settlement,  noticed  a  beautiful  spot, 
and  remarked,  "Captain  C,  that  is  a  beautiful  place 
for  a  church."  "Don't  talk  about  churches,"  said 
Captain  C;  "if  you  do,  you  will  drive  me  out  of 
this  country."  I  said  he  was  profane,  very;  and 
yet  he  was  made  a  trophy  of  grace,  and  became  one 
of  the  humblest  and  most  devoted  Christians  I  ever 
knew.  Howl  The  case  was  this.  I  was  preach- 
ing a  sermon  from  these  words,  "Tekel,  thou  art 
weighed  in  the  balances,  and  art  found  wanting." 
When  I  came  to  weigh  profane  swearers,  amongst 
other  things,  I  remarked:  "An  old  writer  has  said, 


248  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

'The  devil  sometimes  turns  fisherman;  when  he 
fishes  for  ordinary  sinners,  he  is  willing  to  go  to 
some  expense;  he  baits  his  hook  with  the  riches  of 
the  world,  the  honours  of  the  world,  and  the  plea- 
sures of  the  world;  but  when  he  fishes  for  profane 
swearers,  he  throws  them  the  naked  hook,  and  they 
bite  at  the  naked  hook; — cheap  in  the  devil's 
account.'"  This  was  carried  like  an  arrow  to  his 
heart.  He  was  deeply  convicted,  and  a  few  days 
after,  was  a  happy  convert.  "Captain  C,"  said  I, 
"what  first  set  you  to  thinkingr'  "O,  Mr.  Baker," 
replied  he,  "  the  idea  of  the  devil's  catching  me  with 
a  naked  hook.  I  could  not  stand  that,  sir."  I  have 
already  stated  the  remark  he  made  about  churches, 
"Don't  talk  to  me  about  churches,  or  you  will  drive 
me  out  of  this  country."  Now  mark  the  change. 
Shortly  after  he  found  peace  in  believing,  he  was 
called  off*  to  some  distance  on  Monday  morning,  and 
did  not  reach  hqme  until  Wednesday  afternoon. 
Hiding  up  to  his  house,  he  saw  a  good  many  horses 
hitched  near  his  premises.  Not  knowing  that  an 
appointment  was  made  for  preaching,  upon  inquiry, 
he  was  informed  of  the  fact.  "  O,  I  am  glad  of  it," 
said  he,  "I  am  so  hungry  for  preaching;  I  have  not 
heard  a  sermon  since  last  Sunday!" 

Here  I  may  mention  the  case  of  Dr.  B.,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Texan  Congress,  a  Senator.  Powerfully 
wrought  upon,  he,  with  some  fifteen  or  twenty 
others,  attended  an  inquiry  meeting,  held  by  brother 
Wilson  and  myself  One  day,  going  from  one  of 
these  meetings,  he  said  to  me,  as  I  was  riding  at  his 
side,  "Mr.  Baker,  I  wish  to  ask  you  one  question, 
and  I  wish  you  to  give  me  a  plain  answer.     To- 


KEV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  249 

morrow  there  is  to  be  a  liorse-race  at  such  a  place. 
I  am  a  candidate  for  re-election  to  the  Senate,  and  I 
am  expected  to  be  there  to  make  a  political  speech. 
Would  it  be  wrong  for  me  to  goV  "Dr.  B.," 
replied  I,  "you  are  now  under  the  strivings  of  the 
Spirit;  if  you  go,  I  believe  it  will  cost  you  your 
soul;  and  what,"  added  I,  "is  a  man  profited  if  he 
shall  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  his  own  soid]" 
"Sir,"  said  he,  "I  don't  care  about  being  elected,  but 
I  don't  Hke  the  idea  of  being  defeated."  "Very 
well.  Dr.  B.,"  said  I,  "I  have  nothing  more  to  say; 
if  you  do  go  I  believe  it  will  cost  you  your  soul." 
The  next  day,  instead  of  going  to  the  race-ground, 
he  was  at  church.  I  think  he  will  bless  God  for 
ever  that  he  did  so ;  for  whilst  I  am  writing  these 
lines,  I  do  believe  his  ransomed  soul  is  bending  be- 
fore the  eternal  throne.  Some  eight  or  ten  years 
after  his  hopeful  conversion,  I  met  with  him  at  G. 
He  was  then  a  much  esteemed  elder  of  the  Cumber- 
land Presbyterian  church.  We  were  engaged  in  very 
pleasant  conversation,  when  a  gentleman  stepped 
in  hastily,  and  said,  "Dr.  B.,  the  Indians  have  killed 
two  young  men  near  your  house."*  "Is  it  possible!" 
said  he.  Alas !  some  five  days  after,  he  himself  fell 
by  the  hands  of  the  cruel  savages. 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  1840  that  this  meeting 
took  place,  at  Independence  and  the  Chrisman  set- 
tlement ;  and  this  was  the  date  of  the  organization 
of  the  Brazos  Presbytery,  April  3d,  1840.  The 
brethren  met  at   Chrisman's  school-house,  and  or- 

*  Dr,  B.  resided  in  the  country,  about  fifteen  miles  from  G. 


250  LIFE    AND    LABOURS   OF   THE 

ganized  the  first  Old-school  Presbytery  in  the  then 
Kepublic  of  Texas,  viz. — 

The  Rev.  Hugh  Wilson,  of  the  Presbytery  of 
South  Alabama.  Pev.  John  McCullough,  of  New- 
ton Presbytery,  New  Jersey.  Pev.  William  Y. 
Allen,  of  the  Presbytery  of  Western  District,  Ten- 
nessee. Puling  elder,  Mr.  John  McFarland,  Inde- 
pendence church. 

The  Presbytery,  having  organized,  drew  up  and 
adopted  its  views  of  faith  and  doctrine,  which  were 
in  exact  accordance  with  the  standards  of  our 
Church;  but  a  question  of  ecclesiastical  connection 
was  started  which  occasioned  much  debate:  Shall 
this  Presbytery  be  connected  with  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States,  or  shall  it  assume  an  independent  character  1 
As  it  was  under  a  foreign  government,  and  as  there 
seemed  to  be  scarcely  any  possibility  of  carrying  up 
the  records  or  any  appeal  to  any  higher  ecclesias- 
tical court  in  "  The  States,"  it  was  finally  determined 
to  remain  disconnected  with  the  General  Assembly, 
until  some  new  light  should  be  thrown  upon  the 
subject. 

Monday^  April  6th.  The  Presbytery  met  accord- 
ing to  adjournment,  in  a  log  out-house,  near  the 
dwelling  of  Mr.  L.  I  was  present,  and  invited  to 
sit  as  a  corresponding  member  from  Tuskaloosa 
Presbytery,  Alabama.  The  matter  of  ecclesiastical 
connection  was  mentioned  to  me,  and  my  opinion 
was  asked.  I  approved  of  the  action  of  Presbytery, 
and,  accordingly,  no  connection  was  sought  with  the 
Synod  of  Mississippi,  or  General  Assembly.  This 
gave  great  offence,  and  caused  the  Board  of  Missions 


REV.    DANIEL  BAKER,   D.  D.  251 

to  withdraw  the  commission  and  pecuniary  aid  pre- 
viously given  to  the  E-ev.  Hugh  Wilson,  who,  for 
several  years,  had  been  in  the  employment  of  the 
Board.  This  proved  a  serious  affair  to  this  worthy 
brother,  who  was,  with  his  family,  in  straitened  cir- 
cumstances, and  who  was  thus  suddenly  cut  off  from 
his  principal  means  of  support.  It  excited  my  sym- 
pathy, and  upon  my  return  to  the  States,  I  wrote  a 
letter  of  remonstrance,  couched  in  strong  language, 
addressed  to  the  Corresponding  Secretary. 

When  the  brethren  were  together  at  the  Chris- 
man  settlement,  we  had  some  talk  about  establishing 
a  Presbyterian  College  in  Texas.  The  spot  was  even 
selected.  It  was  a  high  and  commanding  eminence, 
some  three  or  four  hundred  yards  from  brother 
Wilson's  residence.  Standing  on  the  spot,  the  scene 
around  was  most  beautiful.  On  the  one  hand  were 
wide  prairies,  green  and  pleasant  to  the  eye;  on 
the  other,  we  saw  the  extensive  Yegua  forests, 
stretching  far  away,  in  all  the  loveliness  of  the  origi- 
nal and  unbroken  grandeur.  I  made  an  attempt  at 
obtaining  subscriptions.  Calling  upon  Captain  P., 
who  married  the  sister  of  S.  F.  Austin,  he  was  much 
pleased  with  the  idea  when  stated,  and  promised  to 
make  a  donation  of  fifteen  hundred  acres  of  land, 
embracing,  I  think,  the  very  spot  which  we  had 
selected  as  a  site  for  our  college. 

At  this  time  Dr.  Baker  kept,  in  a  small  memoran- 
dum book,  a  journal  of  daily  events.  From  its  little 
pages  we  continue  the  narrative. 

Washingto7i  County^  Texas^  Tuesday^  2\st  Ajml, 
1840.     Visited  this  morning.     Found  Dr.  H.,  who 


252  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

formerly  could  not  remain  during  the  whole  of  a  ser- 
mon on  account  of  his  habit  of  smoking,  evidently 
under  very  serious  impressions.  During  prayer  with 
the  family  the  Doctor  wept.  Eode  to  Chrisman's 
settlement,  and  preached  at  night  to  a  full  house. 
Had  a  deeply  solemn  and  interesting  season;  per- 
haps there  was  not  a  single  careless  person  present. 
Brother  Allen  had  preached  several  sermons  since 
I  left. 

Wednesday^  22d.  Preached  to  pretty  much  the 
same  congregation  at  11  o'clock.  After  sermon  re- 
quested the  serious,  and  those  who  had  obtained  a 
hope,  to  go  into  another  room,  whilst  Christians 
remained  for  prayer.  It  appears  that  the  seriousness 
is  very  general  throughout  the  settlement.  The  fol- 
lowing persons  have  professed  conversion,  embracing 
most  of  the  substantial  members  of  the  community: 
*  *  *  Mr.  G.,  when  under  conviction,  was  so 
much  Avrought  upon  that  he  got  off  his  horse  one 
day  going  to  meeting,  and  begged  a  Christian  friend 
to  pray  for  him.  At  night  preached  again,  but  had 
not  my  accustomed  liberty.  Congregation  large,  and 
in  a  peculiarly  interesting  state ;  but  I  was  completely 
thrown  out  of  the  harness  by  a  fly  drawn  into  my 
throat,  and  by  a  mother  who  was  rocking  her  child 
in  her  lap,  and  keeping  up  a  certain  noise  with  her 
foot  during  nearly  the  whole  service.  What  a  poor 
creature  am  I ! 

Thursday,  2M.  Visited  several  families,  and  rode 
in  company  with  brother  Wilson,  who  is  a  most  ex- 
cellent brother,  and  is  much  pleased  to  see  the  seed 
which  he  has  been  sowing  now  springing  up.  It  is 
right  that  they  that  sow  and  they  that  reap  should 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  253 

rejoice  together.  At  night,  preached  at  Independ- 
ence to  a  very  attentive  congregation.  Several  here 
have  recently  professed  conversion,  and  others  are 
nnder  awakening  influences. 

Fridaij^  24:th.  Spent  the  day  in  reading,  visiting, 
&c.  At  night,  preached  'o  a  large  and  very  atten- 
tive congregation  on  the  supreme  divinity  of  Christ. 
One  gentleman  was  present,  I  am  told,  who  had  not 
heard  a  single  sermon  for  twenty  years! — and  his 
wife  is  a  professor  of  religion!  Wonder  if  his  wife 
has  adorned  the  doctrine! 

Saturday/,  25th.  Addressed  children  at  half-past 
nine,  and  at  eleven  o'clock  preached  from  E,ev.  xii. 
7,  8.  Had  much  liberty,  and  at  the  close  was  com- 
pletely melted  down;  and  whilst  tears  were  rolling 
down  my  cheeks,  I  was  enabled,  with  unusual  earnest- 
ness and  power,  to  urge  sinners  in  the  name  of  a 
beseeching  God,  to  abandon  the  black  banner  of 
Apollyon,  and  range  themselves  under  the  white 
banner  of  the  Prince  of  Peace.  In  the  afternoon 
brother  Allen  and  myself  both  exhorted,  and  then  I 
addressed  mothers.  This  meeting  will  long  be  re- 
membered; hope  much  good  was  done.  At  night 
brother  Allen  preached,  and  I  closed  with  an  ex- 
hortation; reminding  the  sinner  that  there  w^as  only 
one  person  in  the  universe  to  whom  his  salvation 
was  necessary,  that  is,  himself,  and  pressing  upon 
him  the  language  of  the  Apostle,  "Do  thyself  no 
harm." 

Sabbath,   26th.     Sacramental    Sabbath.     Preached 

in  the  morning  from  Mark  xv.  34.     Had  something 

of  an  unction.     At  the  close   of  the  sermon  there 

"'^as   almost   universal   weeping.      Brother   McCalla 

22 


254  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

being  present,  administered  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper.  Twelve  persons  were  admitted  by 
the  Session,  all  new  converts  save  one,  who  was  re- 
ceived from  the  Campbellite  church  after  examina- 
tion. Four  of  the  young  converts  were  baptized. 
During  the  recess  called  in  the  blacks,  (who  had 
been  lingering  about  the  doors  and  windows,)  and 
preached  a  sermon  to  them  from  these  words,  "O, 
taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is  good."  Brother  Allen, 
with  much  earnestness,  preached  in  the  afternoon, 
and  I  closed  with  an  exhortation.  At  night  I 
preached  my  last  sermon.  At  the  close  there  was 
much  tender  feeling;  there  seemed  to  be  weeping- 
all  over  the  house.  After  returning  to  brother  Wil- 
son's house,  conversed  with  his  daughters,  who  ap- 
peared to  be  under  very  deep  conviction.  Brother 
Wilson  attempted  to  lead  in  family  prayer,  but  his 
feelings  overcame  him,  and  I  had  to  close  the  prayer. 
The  Lord's  name  be  praised  for  what  was  seen  and 
heard  and  felt  this  day ! 

Monday,  21th.  Took  an  affectionate  leave  of 
brother  Wilson  and  family,  and  in  company  with 
brother  Allen  and  Mr.  Holcomb  and  wife,  who  yes- 
terday had  come  on  horseback  eighteen  miles  to 
preaching.  On  the  road  fell  in  company  with  a 
young  man,  Mr.  Henderson,  who  resides  in  Colum- 
bia^ but  had  just  come  from  Austin.  Mr.  H.  says  he 
had  to  swim  four  creeks,  and  in  one  had  well  nigh 
been  drowned.  How  providential  I  did  not  go  to 
Austin,  as  I  originally  intended.  Indeed,  I  find  that 
ever  since  leaving  home,  I  have  had  reason  to  mark 
the  hand  of  a  wise  and  gracious  Providence.  I 
made  great  efforts    to   get  to   Texas   at  an  earlier 


RET.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  255 

period,  but  was  held  in  check  by  a  very  remarkable 
Crciin  of  providences;  and  yet  it  appears  I  reached 
Texas  just  at  the  right  time.  Had  I  come  sooner, 
the  season  would  have  been  unfavourable  for  mis- 
sionary operations;  had  I  come  later,  I  would  not 
have  had  sufficient  time  before  the  setting  in  of 
warm  weather.  The  Bible  says,  "The  steps  of  a 
good  man  are  ordered  by  the  Lord."  I  do  not  say 
that  I  am  a  good  man,  but  the  promise  I  have 
claimed  and  acted  upon. 

Brother  Allen  and  myself  reached  San  Felipe  a 
little  after  sunset  (forty  miles.)  We  sent  around 
notice,  and  preached  to  about  twenty-five  persons. 
Brother  Allen  led  in  the  exercises,  and  I  followed. 
I  do  not  recollect  that  I  ever  spoke  with  more  ease 
and  fluency  in  all  my  life.  Mr.  K.,  our  landlord, 
remarked  that  the  people  would  have  been  willing 
to  remain  until  midnight.  I  am  promised  a  large 
congregation  here  if  I  will  only  preach  on  the  Sab- 
bath. 

Tuesday,  2Sth.  Eeached  Mrs.  P's  (thirty  miles) 
early  in  the  afternoon,  and  proposed  preaching  in 
her  house  at  night.  Mrs.  P.  cordially  consented, 
and  accordingly  at  night  I  preached  to  a  congrega- 
tion of  about  sixteen,  consisting  of  the  family,  some 
carpenters  who  were  employed  in  building  her  a 
splendid  house,  and  a  few  travellers.  After  sermon 
had  quite  an  argument  with  two  ladies  just  from  New 
Orleans,  hearers  of  Mr.  C,  a  Universalist  preacher. 
They  insisted  upon  it  that  it  was  perfectly  right  for 
members  of  the  church  to  attend  balls,  &c.,  and  that 
certainly  it  was  right  for  the  pastor  to  go  where  his 


2o6  LIFE  AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

people  went !     At  length  I  brought  forward  an  argii 
ment  which  completely  silenced  them. 

Thursday  30th.  Preached  at  Mr.  F's,  in  Columbia 
at  eleven  o'clock,  to  more  than  I  had  anticipated. 
In  the  afternoon  brother  Allen  preached,  and  I  fol 
lowed.  At  night,  was  astonished  at  the  number  of 
persons  present.  I  preached  a  long  sermon;  at  the 
close,  much  feeling. 

Friday/,  May  \st.  Rode  to  East  Columbia,  and 
preached  at  eleven  o'clock  in  a  vacant  store ;  about 
seventy-five  present ;  great  attention  and  some  weep- 
ing. Brother  Allen  preached  in  the  afternoon ;  after 
which  I  had  much  liberty  in  exhortation.  At  night, 
preached  at  Mr.  F's,  in  West  Columbia ;  had  a  large 
congregation  and  very  solemn  meeting.  After  ser- 
vices, spent  a  few  moments  in  speaking  to  blacks, 
who  seemed  to  be  much  interested. 

Saturday^  2d.  Preached  in  the  morning  with 
much  freedom;  in  the  afternoon  held  an  inquiry 
meeting  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Bell;  some  ten  or 
twelve  present.  Two  more  have  obtained  a  hope; 
some  were  powerfully  wrought  upon,  who  had  been 
very  irreligious.     At  night  preached  again. 

Sabbath,  3d.  Hode  to  Brazoria,  and  preached  in 
the  room  occupied  as  a  court-house.  The  room 
was  crowded,  and  many  were  out  in  the  piazza, 
The  sermon  was  long,  but  none  seemed  impatient. 
Preached  in  the  afternoon,  and  also  at  night.  Think 
a  very  deep  impression  was  made,  particidarly  al 
night.  Found  an  opportunity  to  preach  a  short  ser- 
mon to  the  blacks  also. 

Monday,  ith.  Preached  in  the  morning  to  about 
forty  persons,  chiefly  females.     At   the  close,  con- 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  257 

versed  with  several,  who  appeared  to  be  under  deep 
exercises.  In  the  afternoon  brother  Allen  preached 
a  short  sermon.  At  night  I  preached  my  last  ser- 
mon to  a  full  house,  from  these  words :  "  Be  not 
righteous  overmuch."  Toward  the  close,  when  I 
urged  the  necessity  of  being  righteous  enough,  there 
was  great  solemnity  and  much  feeling;  one  young 
lady  in  particular  wept  aloud.  Her  mother,  an  aged 
woman,  was  at  her  side;  not  converted,  but  appar- 
ently very  serious.  Dr.  C.  informed  me  that  Colonel 
H.  directed  him  to  say,  that  if  I  would  come  to 
Texas  to  live,  he  would  make  me  a  present  of  some 
four  or  five  hundred  acres  of  land.  This  gentlemen, 
it  seems,  was  pungently  convicted  under  one  of  my 
sermons  a  few  days  since,  and  was  one  of  those  who 
attended  the  inquiry  meeting  on  Saturday  last. 

Tuesday^  ^th.  Rode  with  brother  Allen  five  miles, 
to  Mr.  H's,  where  we  breakfasted,  and  had  a  friendly 
conversation  with  Mr.  H.  and  his  lady,  on  some  doc- 
trinal points.  After  breakfast,  rode  three  miles 
further,  to  Major  C's,  who  had  invited  me  to  visit 
him,  and  preach  at  his  house ;  accordingly  I  preached 
a  sermon  to  about  fifteen  white  persons,  and  a  goodly 
number  of  blacks  were  in  the  back  piazza.  Two  or 
three  white  persons  wept;  and  I  noticed  one  man  in 
particular  whose  countenance  indicated  deep  thought- 
fulness  and  anxiety.  They  listened  with  great  inte- 
rest for  some  twenty  minutes;  and  when  I  closed 
my  remarks,  they  still  seemed  unwilling  to  retire. 
Believe  some  good  was  done. 

Wednesday,  6th.  Eode  with  brother  Allen  to  Mr. 
Ws,  where  there  was  an  appointment  for  preaching. 
Brother  Allen  preached,  and  I  followed.     Mr.  W. 

99# 


258  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

and  lady  had  attended  the  meeting  in  Cohimbia, 
(perhaps  fifteen  miles  distant,)  and  had  been  much 
wrought  upon,  but  not  converted.  In  the  afternoon, 
brother  Allen  and  myself  taking  an  affectionate  leave 
of  each  other,  I  rode  to  the  house  of  Mr.  P. 

Thursday^  1th.  According  to  appointment  preached 
this  morning  at  the  house  of  Mr.  P.  It  rained,  and 
yet  some  fifteen  white  persons  were  present  and 
listened  with  great  attention. 

Friday,  8th.  Had  a  lonely  ride  to  Y's.  Reached 
there  about  sunset,  and  being  much  jaded  and  some- 
what unwell,  I  threw  myself  upon  a  bed  to  rest. 
While  lying  down,  I  was  told  that  a  Mr.  W.  had 
about  an  hour  before  set  out  for  the  landing  on 
Matagorda  Bay,  about  three  miles  distant,  whence  a 
boat  was  to  start  for  Matagorda,  and  that  if  I  would 
ride  fast  I  might  get  to  the  landing  before  the  boat 
would  start.  Accordingly  I  rose,  and  hastening  on, 
I  reached  the  boat,  leaving  my  horse  with  Mr.  Y., 
who  promised  to  make  no  charge.  The  boat  proved 
leaky,  and  we  had  a  terrible  time  of  it. 

Saturday,  9th.  What  a  night,  what  a  night!  All 
exposed  on  the  bay  in  an  open  boat,  and  a  fresh 
north  wind  blowing  all  night.  I  had  a  blanket,  but 
it  was  soon  made  soaking  wet  by  the  leaking  of  the 
boat.  It  was,  however,  my  only  bed;  and  ever  and 
anon,  finding  the  water  invading  my  couch,  I  had  to 
rise  and  bail  the  boat,  or  get  some  one  else  to  do  it. 
The  sun  rising  next  morning  in  a  clear  sky  was  some 
comfort,  but  the  breeze  was  too  strong  to  permit  our 
sailing;  so  we  remained  in  the  same  position  until 
about  noon,  when  the  wind  slackening  a  little,  we 
weighed  anchor,  and  set  sail  for  Matagorda,  which 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.   D.  259 

place  we  reached  about  eight  o'clock  at  night.  I  had 
neither  breakfast,  dinner,  nor  supper  on  board  of  the 
boat,  save  one  biscuit  and  a  small  piece  of  beef,  and 
had  come  off  without  supper  the  night  before.  One 
might  suppose  I  would  have  had  a  ravenous  appetite, 
but  no  such  thing;  I  felt  jaded  and  almost  worn  out. 
My  feet  had  been  wet  for  some  fifteen  hours,  and  I 
longed  to  get  into  a  comfortable  bed.  Finding  a 
very  indifferent  house  of  entertainment,  and  par- 
taking sparingly  of  a  very  indifferent  supper,  I  was 
put  into  a  very  indifferent  bed — no,  I  must  not  call 
it  a  bed — on  a  broken  cot,  with  a  straw  pillow,  I 
spent  another  wretched  night. 

Sahbath,  10th.  E-ose  unrefreshed;  felt  badly  all 
day.  At  eleven  o'clock  heard  Mr.  I.,  the  Episcopal 
minister  (an  interesting  man,  and  the  only  resident 
minister)  preach  in  the  Masonic  Hall,  the  only  preach- 
ing place  in  town.  At  night  I  preached  to  a  very 
full  house  on  the  evidences  of  Christianity.  Very 
good  attention  was  given,  and  although  my  sermon 
was  an  hour  long,  there  was  not  the  slightest  indica- 
tion of  impatience. 

Monday,  llth.  Felt  badly;  yet,  after  breakfast, 
took  a  view  of  the  town.  In  the  afternoon  I  had 
a  chill,  and  at  night  felt  quite  feverish  and  light- 
headed; nevertheless,  I  preached;  had  a  crowded 
house;  some  went  away,  not  being  able  to  procure 
seats.  Never,  perhaps,  in  all  my  life,  spoke  with 
more  freedom  and  power ;  was  much  favoured  with 
devotional  and  heavenly  feelings ;  do  hope  that  some 
deep  impressions  were  made.  Although  Matagorda 
is  considered  a  very  hard  place,  the  people  attend 
church,  I  am  told,  very  well;  but  there  are  not  more, 


260  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF    THE 

from  what  I  can  learn,  than  ten  converted  persons  in 
all  the  town;  and  not  a  smgle  soul,  it  seems,  has 
ever  yet  been  converted  in  this  place.  When  in 
Columbia,  I  heard  it  stated  that,  some  months  since, 
there  were  only  three  professors  in  town — one  was  a 
Presbyterian,  another  a  Methodist,  and  the  third  a 
Baptist ;  and  the  three  uniting,  formed  themselves 
into  an  Episcopal  church! 

Tuesday^  12th.  Spent  a  very  restless  night;  had 
a  fever,  and  a  slight  pain  in  my  head,  nearly  all 
night.  Towards  morning  had  a  profuse  perspiration, 
and  felt  rather  better ;  during  the  day  hardly  knew 
what  to  do ;  could  neither  read  nor  write,  nor  lie 
down,  nor  take  exercise  with  any  satisfaction,  until 
towards  evening,  when,  the  weather  clearing  off,  I 
began  to  feel  much  better.  At  night  preached,  but 
had  no  liberty  at  all;  the  house,  howevei',  was  quite 
full,  and  the  congregation,  as  usual,  very  attentive. 

Wednesday^  \Wu  Felt  very  well  in  the  morning. 
Visited,  and  held  a  meeting  for  mothers ;  but,  in  the 
afternoon  had  a  return  of  the  chills,  which  were  suc- 
ceeded by  a  hot  fever,  which,  after  I  had  suffered 
much,  went  off  in  a  profuse  perspiration.  Whilst 
lying  restless  in  my  bed,  the  thought  occurred  that  it 
was  possible  I  might  die  in  Matagorda.  I  can  truly 
say  my  desire  was  that  the  Lord's  will  might  be  done. 
There  were  two  things,  however,  which  made  death 
rather  undesirable  at  this  time ;  one  was,  that  I  was 
among  strangers — I  had  rather,  if  it  please  God,  die 
in  the  bosom  of  my  family ;  tlie  other  was,  should  I 
die  in  Texas,  it  might  discourage  some  ministers 
from  coming  to  this  new  Republic.  AVith  regard  to 
my  prospects   for   another  world,  thank   the  Lord, 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  261 

they  are  pleasing.  If  I  know  the  state  of  my  own 
mind,  I  am  willing  to  go  at  any  time ;  nay,  some- 
times I  think  I  can  say  even  with  the  apostle,  "  I 
have  a  desire  to  depart,  and  be  with  Christ,  which  is 
far  better." 

"Lord,  'tis  an  infinite  delight 
To  see  thy  lovely  face ; 
To  dwell  whole  ages  in  thy  sight, 
And  feel  thy  vital  rays." 

Thursday^  14fA.  This  morning  felt  much  relieved; 
the  doctor,  hoAvever,  advised  me  to  keep  my  bed  all 
day;  accordingly,  I  scarcely  left  my  room,  and  read 
as  much  as  I  conveniently  could.  I  feel  much  de- 
bilitated, and  greatly  desire  the  arrival  of  the  brig 
"  Sam  Houston,"  in  which  I  expect  to  embark  for 
New  Orleans.  Being  indisposed  all  day,  of  course  I 
did  not  preach  at  night. 

Friday^  Ibth.  Woke  up  this  morning  feeling 
rather  enfeebled.  Thought  I  saw  the  "Sam  Hous- 
ton" in  the  bay,  but  was  sadly  disappointed.  About 
ten  o'clock  my  fever  returned,  and  continued  about 
eight  hours. 

Saturday,  16th.  Spent  a  very  restless  night;  did 
not  get  any  sleep  until  towards  morning;  woke  up 
however  in  the  morning  feeling  considerably  better. 
Looked  out  upon  the  bay  for  the  "Sam  Houston," 
but  she  had  not  yet  made  her  appearance.  Kept 
my  bed  nearly  the  whole  of  the  day;  I  was  very 
sick.  The  Episcopal  minister,  in  the  kindness  of 
his  heart,  called  to  see  me,  and  upon  his  rising  to 
leave,  I  requested  him  to  pray.  Accordingly,  he 
opened  his  prayer-book,  and  read  some  two  or  three 
short  prayers ;  but,  I  must  confess,  that  I  thought  an 


262  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

extemporaneous  prayer,  prompted  by  the  occasion, 
would  have  had  a  better  effect  upon  my  religious 
feehngs.  The  doctor  who  attended  me,  and  others, 
were  very  kind. 

Sabbath,  11  th.  Although  weak,  was  enabled  to 
attend  church,  and  hear  Mr.  I.  preach.  In  the  after- 
noon attended  the  Sabbath-school.  Found  it  very 
small;  only  about  twelve  scholars  present,  and  two 
or  three  teachers.  I  made  a  few  remarks.  At  night 
I  preached  to  a  crowded  house.  During  the  day  I 
looked  forward  with  special  interest  to  the  occasion, 
and  thought  I  should  be  able  to  speak  with  peculiar 
tenderness  and  solemnity;  but  so  soon  as  I  began  to 
speak,  I  found  that  I  had  not  that  physical  strength 
nor  command  of  voice  which  I  hoped.  A  httle 
attack  of  sickness,  how  it  pulls  one  down ! 

Monday,  ISth.  Felt  much  prostrated,  and  could 
do  little  more  than  read,  and  wait  the  time  to  preach 
at  night.  Understand  that  a  very  unusual  impres- 
sion was  made  last  night.  The  sermon,  it  seems, 
has  started  much  inquiry,  and  given  rise  to  much 
conversation  this  day.  Some  were  much  pleased; 
but  others  thought  I  bore  down  rather  hard.  At 
four  o'clock  I  addressed  about  twenty  cliildren,  and 
at  night  preached  with  some  freedom  to  a  congrega- 
tion even  larger,  perhaps,  than  it  was  last  night.  It 
was  a  crowd  indeed. 

Tuesday,  19 th.  Last  night  had  a  kind  of  giant 
pain  in  my  back.  Never  had  such  a  peculiar  kind  of 
pain  in  all  my  life.  In  the  afternoon,  I  preached  a 
short  sermon  on  the  subject  of  experimental  religion, 
according  to  notice  previously  given;  after  which 
the  ladies  present  remained   to  form  some  plan  to 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  263 

procure  the  occasional  preaching  of  some  Presbyte- 
rian in  this  place.  At  night  we  had  a  very  large 
congregation,  and  I  was  enabled  to  speak  with  somc3 
considerable  tenderness  and  energy.  Many  tear^ 
were  shed,  and  I  think  that,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
the  impression  this  night  was  decidedly  happy.  As 
there  was  a  prospect  of  my  embarking  to-morrow,  I 
endeavoured,  after  the  sermon,  to  set  before  the  con- 
gregation, in  a  clear  and  succinct  way,  the  mode  of 
the  sinner's  acceptance  with  God. 

Wednesday,  20th.  Health  much  improved.  Very 
impatient  to  spread  the  wing  for  the  States.  The 
captain  of  the  "  Sam  Houston"  had  said  he  would 
sail  this  day;  but  upon  inquiry,  found  that  he  would 
not  sail  until  to-morrow.  As  the  people  seemed 
very  anxious  that  I  should  preach  for  them  again, 
in  the  evening  the  bell  was  rung,  and  I  preached 
to  a  congregation  nearly  as  large  as  usual.  In  this 
sermon,  I  spoke  with  considerable  energy,  but 
lacked  tenderness. 

Thursday,  2lst.  How  tantalizing!  The  captain 
says  he  does  not  think  he  can  sail  until  to-morrow. 
Could  do  little  else  than  lie  down  and  read.  Feel 
that  my  whole  system  has  been  prostrated. 

Friday,  22d.  Not  to-day,  but  probably  to-morrow, 
again.  What  a  trial  of  one's  patience !  Went  down 
to  the  landing,  to  see  if  I  could  not  go  in  some  boat 
to  the  head  of  Matagorda  Bay,  where  I  had  left  my 
horse.  In  that  case,  my  plan  was  to  go  to  Velasco, 
and  embark  there,  or  at  Galveston;  but  about  an 
hour  by  sun,  the  captain  called,  and  said  he  was 
going.  All  in  haste,  I  hurried  on,  and  in  the  cap- 
tain's yawl  we  reached  the  brig,  lying  off  Dog  Island, 


264  LIFF   A^D    LABOURS  OF   THE 

a  little  after  dark.  Was  very  glad  to  find  myself  on 
board  the  brig;  but  soon  found  that  the  captain  and 
most  of  the  passengers  were  profane.  Told  my  story 
of  "pot-hooks  and  hangers,"  which  had  a  happy 
effect.* 

Saturday^  2Sd.  Had  to  wait  for  a  lighter,  bring- 
ing a  load  of  cotton;  so  we  did  not  set  sail  until 
after  eleven  o'clock.  About  four  o'clock  reached 
Pass  oavallo.  Cast  anchor,  and  went  to  catching 
fish  with  a  seine ;  caught  some,  but  were  not  very 
successful.  Made  arrangements  for  preaching  on 
board  the  brig  in  the  morning,  and  at  Mr.  D's  in 
the  afternoon,  in  case  we  should  be  wind-bound. 

Sahhath,  24:th.  Light  breezes,  but  favourable,  so 
the  captain  made  a  signal  for  a  pilot,  and  by  twelve 
o'clock  we  had  got  through  the  Pass,  and  soon  found 
ourselves  out  of  sight  of  land — '^Undique  pontus, 
et  pontus  undique.^^  Had  no  good  opportunity  to 
preach,  some  being  sea-sick,  and  others  asleep  in 
their  berths.  Breezes  fresh,  but  from  wrong  quarter, 
so  we  were  swept  too  far  to  the  south. 

Monday^  25th.  Breezes  from  the  right  point,  but 
very  light;  made  very  little  headway — what  a  school 
for  patience ! 

Tuesday^  26th.     Calm   nearly   all   night;    in  the 

*  The  story  alluded  to  was  to  the  eftect,  that  a  certain  minister  was  once 
travelling  in  a  stage-coach,  in  which  another  passenger,  who  was  very  talka- 
tive and  profane,  was  interlarding  his  conversation  every  now  and  then  with 
an  oatli.  When  at  length  he  became  silent,  the  minister,  in  tnrn,  began  to 
tell  his  story,  somewhat  in  this  way:  "I  was  once  in  a  certain  place — pot- 
hooks and  hangers! — where  I  met  with  such  a  person — pot-hooks  and 
hangers! — who  said  to  me — pot-hooks  and  hangers!"  &c.  The  gentleman, 
rather  surprised,  interrupted  him  by  asking  what  he  meant  by  his  singular 
interjections.  "Why,"  said  the  minister,  "you  have  your  way  of  telling  a 
story,  and  I  have  mine;    and  of  the  two,  I  think  mine  is  the  best." 


REV.    DANIEL    BAKER,    D.  D.  265 

morning  fresh  breeze,  but  not  favourable.  Hold 
religious  conversation  occasionally  with  the  captain 
and  fellow-passengers;  but,  somehow  or  other,  felt 
unusual  backwardness — had  more  satisfaction  in  my 
own  private  meditations.  Had  a  chill,  followed  by  a 
fever,  which  lasted  nearly  all  night. 

Wednesday,  21th.  Spent  a  wretched  night.  There 
being  much  of  a  calm,  the  rolling  of  the  vessel,  the 
flapping  of  the  sails,  and  the  creaking  of  the  ropes, 
annoyed  me  much;  but  not  half  so  much  as  the 
gambling,  which  was  kept  up  until  three  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  The  card-table  being  near  my  berth,  I 
was  under  the  necessity  of  listening  to  all  that  passed. 
What  a  hell  it  must  be  to  be  hnked  to  such  charac- 
ters! O,  gracious  God,  gather  not  my  soul  with 
sinners!  The  game  played  was  Faro,  and  I  calcu- 
lated that,  during  this  one  sitting,  one  of  the  players 
repeated  this  form  of  expression,  "Five  loses — ten 
wins — ace  loses — Jack  wins,"  about  two  thousand 
times!  It  was  horrible!  Out  of  respect  to  me  they 
did  not  swear  much,  but  occasionally  an  oath  would 
slip  out.  On  one  such  occasion  I  said,  "Captain, 
don't  you  like  new  ideas'? — I  have  just  got  a  bran- 
span  new  one.  You  know,"  continued  I,  "  that  many 
Universalists  swear  they  will  be  damned,  &c.  Now, 
if  all  are  going  to  heaven,  how  can  they  thus  swear 
that  they  will  be  damned?'  I  believe  he  did  not 
like  this  new  idea  much,  for  he  answered  not  a  word. 
Head  winds  still!  Well,  it  is  the  Lord  that  holds 
the  winds  in  his  fist,  and  the  waters  in  the  hollow 
of  his  hand ;  and  let  his  will  be  done. 

Thursdaij,  28th.  Wind  still  unfavourable;  if  it 
were  not  for  interesting  books,  we  should  hardly 
23 


266  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

know  what  to  do.  Our  card-players  are  inveterate 
gamblers;  night  and  day  they  do  little  else  than 
play.  In  the  afternoon  my  chills  returned,  and  then 
a  fever,  which  lasted  nearly  all  night.  Slept  on 
deck. 

Saturday,  30th.  No  change;  wind  still  from  the 
north-east;  dead  ahead.  The  Lord  reigneth;  all  is 
well.     Missed  my  chills — thank  the  Lord! 

Sabbath,  3lst.  An  awning  was  spread  on  deck, 
and,  with  permission,  I  preached  a  short  sermon  to 
all  on  board.  The  vessel  rocked  too  much  for  me 
to  stand,  so  I  sat.  The  wind  still  ahead,  but  the 
weather  pleasant;  no  storms;  pleasant  breezes  ever 
singe  we  sailed.  Although  the  voyage  is  long  and 
tedious,  yet  I  thank  the  Lord  I  have  had  some  sweet 
seasons  in  meditation  and  prayer;  have  been  think- 
ing a  good  deal  about  the  vanity  of  the  world,  and 
the  immense  importance  of  having  an  interest  in  a 
Saviour's  love.  The  thoughts  of  heaven  are  very 
sweet  to  me,  and  I  am  ready  to  say, 

"Let  heavenly  love  prepare  my  soul, 
And  call  her  to  the  skies; 
Where  years  of  long  salvation  roll, 
And  glory  never  dies!" 

Monday,  June  \st.  Pleasant  breezes,  but  still  un- 
favourable. As  T  have  now  been  absent  from  my 
dear  family  nearly  seven  months,  and  have  not  re- 
ceived a  single  letter  for  some  eight  or  nine  weeks, 
it  is  natural  that  I  should  desire  to  reacli  home  as 
soon  as  possible.  But  let  patience  have  her  perfect 
work. 

Tuesday,  2d,     Taking   the  usual  observations  at 


REV.  DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  267 

twelve  o'clock  this  day,  found  that  we  were  about 
thirty  miles  from  Ship  Island,  and  about  one  hundred 
and  twenty  from  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi ;  wind 
pretty  much  from  same  quarter  still — how  remark- 
able! 

Wednesday^  3^.  Head- wind;  so  much  swearing 
on  board,  and  so  much  card-playing,  make  the 
voyage  disagreeable,  but  we  have  uniformly  pleasant 
breezes  and  fair  weather ;  wind  getting  more  favour- 
able. On  a  fair  and  pleasant  morning,  however, 
I  came  up  upon  deck;  every  thing  was  beautiful, 
every  thing  was  cheering ;  the  wind  was  fair,  the 
air  was  balmy.  At  a  distance,  but  in  sight,  was 
the  light-house,  tall  and  white,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river.  There  also  were  ships  at  anchor;  some,  with 
white  spreading  sails,  going  in,  and  some  going  out. 
This,  to  my  eye,  was  a  scene  of  rare  beauty.  To 
crown  the  matter,  up  came  a  powerful  steamboat, 
and  coming  near,  a  rope  was  thrown  on  board  of  our 
brig.  Thus  grappled,  we  went  on  with  wonderful 
speed;  I  was  affected;  and  seeing  the  ocean  behind 
me,  and  the  broad  river  leading  to  the  desired  port 
opening  before  me,  I  thought  of  the  moment  when 
the  Christian,  finishing  his  warfare  on  earth,  is  about 
to  enter  with  joy  the  haven  of  eternal  rest !  I  wept ! 
Overcome  with  delightful  emotions,  I  hastened  to 
the  bow,  from  whence  all  had  retired,  and  there  I 
wept  aloud!  My  soul  was  full  of  joy  and  triumph! 
So,  thinks  I,  as  this  powerful  steamboat  takes  this 
vessel  on — so,  perhaps,  will  some  strong  angel,  at 
last,  be  sent  to  conduct  me  to  the  haven  of  eternal 
rest! — my  long-desired,  my  sweet,  my  eternal  home! 


268  LIFE  AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

CHAPTEE    X. 

LABOURS   AS   AN    EVANGELIST PASTORATE   AT    HOLLY    SPRINGS. 

Dr.  Baker's  autobiography  proceeds: 

Reaching  New  Orleans  in  safety,  I  got  on  board 
the  first  steamboat,  and  soon  exchanging  that  for  a 
horse  and  gig,  I  hurried  on  to  Mr.  C's  residence, 
where  my  family  boarded.  And  now  a  scene  was 
presented  which  I  shall  not  soon  forget.  My  little 
daughter,  a  dear  child,  (Agnes  Elizabeth,)  was  in  the 
yard  in  front  of  the  house,  playing  with  her  cousins, 
Ilowena  and  Mary  C.  She  saw  me  in  the  distance, 
and  recognizing  her  father,  ran  to  meet  me,  scream- 
ing for  joy,  "Pa  is  come!  pais  come!"  My  horse 
knew  not  what  to  make  of  it,  and  began  to  prick  up 
his  ears,  and  was  about  to  run.  Jumping  out  of  the 
gig,  I  had  to  hold  him  fast.  "  Don't  scream  so,  my 
daughter,"  said  I,  "  you  will  frighten  pa's  horse." 
Dear  child,  in  her  great  joy  she  did  not  think  about 
that;  but  like  a  bird  she  flew  to  meet  me,  and  when 
I  stooped  down  to  kiss  her,  she  in  a  paroxysm  of  joy 
threw  her  arms  around  my  neck,  and  I  might  say, 
almost  smothered  me  with  her  kisses.  Dear  child,  I 
shall  never  see  her  running  to  meet  me  any  more ! 
I  shall  never  hear  that  sweet  voice  any  more! 
Those  dear  arms  will  never  be  thrown  around  my 
neck  any  more !  She  sleeps  in  death  now !  That 
sweet  voice  is  hushed.  That  lovely  form  reposes 
under  the  clods  of  the  valley.  The  grass  has  long 
been  green  upon  her  grave.  She  was  my  youngest 
child,  and  very  dear  was  she  to  her  father's  heart. 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  269 

She  was  about  ten  years  of  age  when  she  was  taken 
from  her  affectionate  parents.  But,  thank  God,  there 
was  hope  in  her  death.  She  had  been  a  Sabbath- 
scholar  in  early  life;  when  not  four  years  old,  her 
mother  took  her  to  the  Sabbath-school;  she  was 
delighted.  When  I  came  home  from  preaching,  she 
came  up  to  me  with  eyes  sparkling  with  joy,  and 
said,  "  Pa,  ma  took  me  to  Sunday-school  this  morn- 
ing, and  said  I  might  go  next  Sunday,  and  Sunday 
after  too." 

On  her  bed  of  death  she  suffered  much.  "  O,  my 
pain!"  said  she,  on  a  certain  occasion.  "Where  is 
your  pain,  my  dearl"  asker  her  mother.  "All  over," 
replied  the  dear  little  sufferer.  At  first  she  seemed 
alarmed,  and  begged  her  mother  to  pray  for  her; 
afterwards  all  fears  were  removed — a  heavenly  peace 
seemed  to  take  possession  of  her  soul.  Waldng  up 
one  day  out  of  a  sweet  sleep,  she  looked  at  her 
mother,  and  said:  "The  harp!  What  did  you  bring 
me  away  for,  mammal"  "What  did  you  say,  my 
dearf'  replied  her  mother.  "The  harp!"  said  she 
again,  "What  did  you  bring  me  away  for'?"  Dear 
child!  she  thought  that  she  had  been  in  heaven, 
hearing  "the  voice  of  harpers,  harping  with  their 
harps." 

On  one  Sunday  night,  the  last  with  her  on  earth, 
she  called  a  servant  girl,  to  whom  she  was  much 
attached.  "Melissa,"  said  she,  "I  love  you;  come  lie 
down  by  my  side."  The  servant  obeyed.  "Melissa," 
added  she,  "  didn't  you  know  that  I  am  going  to  die 
to-night ]"  "O,  well,"  said  the  girl,  "if  you  die  to- 
night, the  blessed  Jesus  will  take  you  right  up  to 
heaven."  "Well!"  said  she;  and  that  was  the  last 
23* 


270  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

word  my  dear  Agnes  Elizabeth  ever  uttered  on  earth. 
The  next  morning  the  struggle  was  over.  Her  body- 
was  slumbering  in  the  arms  of  death ;  her  ransomed 
spirit  reposing,  as  I  trust,  in  the  bosom  of  her  blessed 
Saviour. 

I  was  not  present  when  my  little  daughter  died ;  I 
was  in  Gainesville,  where  I  had  engaged  to  supply 
the  pulpit  for  a  short  time.  I  received  a  letter 
from  my  son  W.,  stating  that  his  sister  was  very  sick; 
but  at  the  bottom  there  was  a  line  written  by  Dr.  O., 
stating  in  substance  that  no  danger  was  apprehended. 
By  the  next  mail  I  was  informed  that  my  daughter 
was  dead.  The  news  was  so  unexpected  that  I  was 
stunned;  I  shed  not  a  tear;  I  was  as  one  bewild- 
ered. I  returned  to  my  chamber,  read  the  letter 
over  again,  and  then  could  not  refrain  from  weeping 
aloud;  for  I  loved  her  much.  O,  thought  I,  if  I 
could  only  have  been  with  her  in  her  last  moments ! 
But  there  is  a  providence,  and  God  does  all  things 
well.  My  idol  taken  from  me,  the  very  earth  seemed 
darkened.  But  I  trust  I  was  enabled  to  say,  with 
holy  Job,  "The  Lord  gave;  the  Lord  hath  taken 
away.     Blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord!" 

It  was  about  this  period  that  Dr.  Baker  wrote  as 
follows : 

"Maiiion,  June  I8th,  1840. 

"Dear  Brother  Galloway — I  have  been  to 
Texas.  I  have  just  returned;  and  so  well  pleased 
am  I  with  what  I  have  seen  and  heard  in  that  new 
Hepublic,  that  I  think  I  shall  make  it  my  home. 
The  lands  in  general  are  very  rich,  and  some  parts  of 
the  country  are  extremely  beautiful.     But  what  is 


KEY.    DANIEL    BAKER,  D.  D.  271 

more  important,  the  people  set  a  very  great  value 
upon  a  preached  gospel,  and  come  out  wonderfully. 
I  have  often  said,  on  week  evenings  as  well  as  on 
Sabhath-days,  Where  do  all  these  people  come  from'? 
I  think  the  associations  of  early  life  must  have  some 
influence  in  this  matter;  a  mother's  tears  and  a 
mother's  prayers  are  not  forgotten.  Moreover,  there 
seems  to  be  a  disposition  to  roll  away  the  reproach 
cast  upon  them,  that  they  are  a  set  of  outlaws  and 
demi-savages ;  and,  besides,  you  know  that  what  is 
scarce  is  much  prized. 

"The  popidation  of  Texas  may  amount  to  one 
hundred  thousand  souls,  and  there  are  comparatively 
very  few  preachers  amongst  them.  The  Methodists 
have  some  twelve  or  fourteen,  the  Presbyterians 
only  four  or  five.  How  many  there  are  of  the 
Baptist  communion  I  know  not ;  not  many,  I  think  ; 
and  of  the  Episcopal  Church  I  have  heard  of  not 
more  than  two  or  three.  I  have  preached  in  places 
where  no  gospel  sermon  had  ever  been  preached 
before;  and  I  have  seen  adults  who  had  not  heard 
a  single  discourse,  some  for  eight,  some  for  twelve, 
and  some  for  twenty  years.  I  saw  a  lady  and  gen- 
tleman who,  on  a  Sunday  morning,  rode  eighteen 
miles  to  church,  without  having  any  certain  informa- 
tion that  there  would  be  preaching  that  day.  You 
may  judge  how  much  they  were  delighted  to  find 
that  it  was  a  communion  season,  and  that  there  was 
a  blessed  revival  of  religion  going  on.  Having  both 
of  them  been  professors  of  religion  in  the  old  States, 
I  trust  they  received  spiritual  benefit  that  day.  I 
will  not  now  enter  into  particulars;  suffice  it  to  say, 
I  had   the  pleasure  of  witnessing  several  precious 


272  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

seasons  of  refreshing  in  Texas,  and  had  the  satis- 
faction of  seeing  some  of  Austin's  colony  happily- 
brought  in.     Laus  Deo! 

"With   Christian    salutations,   your    brother   in 
Christ, 

Daniel  Baker." 

"Gainesville,  August  2t/,  1840. 

"My  beloyed  Daughter—!  think  it  likely  that 
you  were  much  disappointed  that  I  did  not  go  to 
Tuskaloosa  at  the  time  expected.  I  was  sadly  dis- 
appointed myself;  but  so  it  was,  I  coidd  not  conve- 
niently go.  You  know  I  told  you  that  I  am  like  a 
'Portuguese  man-of-war,'  a  curious  kind  of  fish,  that 
spreads  its  sails  to  the  breezes  of  heaven,  and  floats 
about  over  the  ocean,  wherever  the  winds  and  the 
waves  may  waft  it.  So  have  I  been  since  my  return 
from  Texas.  I  look  up  to  heaven  for  direction,  and 
go  whithersoever  the  winds  and  the  waves  of  Provi- 
dence conduct  me. 

"  I  stayed  at  Dayton  longer  than  I  had  expected. 
We  had  a  delightful  time,  a  sweet  season  of  refresh- 
ing. On  Wednesday,  after  the  services  had  com- 
menced, there  were  some  sixty  or  seventy  in  the 
inquiry  meeting;  one  of  them  a  political  partizan 
from  Demopolis,  Major  T.,  who,  with  some  others, 
had  come  to  Dayton,  not  to  seek  the  salvation  of 
their  souls,  but  to  aid  in  the  election  of  General 
Harrison.  Stop!  I  have  made  a  little  mistake;  it 
was  on  the  Sabbath,  the  very  next  day  after  he  had 
addressed  the  people.  This  I  think  quite  remark- 
able. On  Thursday  afternoon,  as  I  was  informed,  all 
the  stores  and  shops  were  shut  up,  a  case  without 


REV.   DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  273 

precedent  there,  even  on  the  Sabbath.  Brother 
C.  puts  down  the  number  of  converts  at  fifteen. 
Blessed  be  God !  On  my  way  to  Marion,  I  preached 
some  six  or  eight  sermons  in  Woodville,  and  think 
that  a  very  good  impression  was  then  made.  On 
my  return  to  Marion  I  received  a  letter  from  Dr.  C, 
of  Texas,  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  encourag- 
ing I  ever  received  in  all  my  life.  He  was  pleased 
to  say,  "The  people  of  Texas  will  bless  God  that  a 
Baker  was  sent  to  Texas;"  and  adds  that  not  one  of 
the  converts  had  faltered. 

"Excuse  me,  Theodora;  are  you  not  my  own 
much  loved  daughter]  I  hope  my  own  child  will 
not  charge  her  father  with  boasting;  but  the  matter 
is  so  pleasing  to  me,  it  wakes  up,  as  I  trust,  so  much 
gratitude  in  my  bosom,  I  thought  I  would  record  it. 
The  fact  will  encourage  me  in  time  to  come.  On 
reaching from  Dayton,  I  also  received  a  com- 
munication from  the  church  and  congregation  invit- 
ing me  to  this  place ;  and  here  I  expect  to  remain 
until  I  start  for  Texas,  which,  I  suppose,  will  be 
about  the  10th  of  October  next.  May  God's  richest 
blessings  rest  upon  you,  my  beloved  child.  Farewell. 
"Your  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

"La  Grange,  Jan.  13th,  1841, 

"  My  beloved  Daughter — I  have  written  a  goodly 
number  of  letters  to  you  and  your  mother  within  a 
short  time  past.  If  I  have  given  you  a  surfeit,  you 
can  just  fold  up  this  letter,  and  lay  it  aside  until 
your  surfeit  is  over. 

"  I  am  now  in  La  Grange,  in  the  midst  of  a  pro- 


274  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF   THE 

traded  meeting,  which  is  becoming  more  and  more 
interesting  every  day.  The  meeting  will  probably 
come  to  a  close  next  Monday.  I  then  expect  to  visit 
brother  Williamson's  charge  at  Somerville,  and  then 
return  to  Holly  Springs,  at  which  place  I  hope  to 
receive  letters  from  you,  which  will  have  an  influence 
upon  my  subsequent  movements.  I  came  to  this 
place  from  Hernando,  a  new  village,  about  fifty  miles 
distant,  where  we  had  a  precious  work  of  grace;  no 
great  revival,  to  be  sure,  but  several  persons  were 
hopefully  converted,  all  men;  amongst  whom  are 
numbered  Colonel  H.,  General  T.,  and  Dr.  B.,  all 
men  of  the  very  first  respectability.  The  latter  gen- 
tleman, in  particular,  is  said  to  be  a  man  of  the  first 
order  of  talent,  and  a  ripe  scholar.  I  had  the  plea- 
sure of  baptizing  him  last  week;  and,  as  you  may 
well  suppose,  it  was  a  season  of  no  common  interest. 
The  Doctor  was  powerfully  wrought  upon  himself, 
and  there  was  much  weeping  throughout  the  house ; 
I  think  some  would  have  shouted  aloud,  if  they  had 
not  been  afraid  of  Presbyterians. 

"  I  hope,  my  daughter,  your  health  is  good.  Take 
care  of  it,  my  child,  for  your  old  father's  sake.  You 
are  now  my  only  rose.  Your  sister,  your  precious 
little  sister,  has  been  snatched  from  my  sight,  and  I 
must  see  her  no  more  until  I  go  to  heaven.  There 
I  hope  to  see  her  crowned,  and  in  her  Saviour's 
bosom.  O,  my  beloved  Agnes,  your  father  still 
weeps  at  the  remembrance  of  thee!  But  it  is  all 
right;  still  will  I  say,  'The  Lord  gave;  the  Lord 
hath  taken  away;  and  blessed  be  the  name  of  the 
Lord.' — 'Melissa,  didn't  you  know  that  I  am  going 
to   die    to-night  r     'O,  well,   my   dear,    if  you  die 


REV.   DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  275 

to-night,  tlie  blessed  Jesus  will  take  you  right 
straight  to  heaven.'  'Well!' — This  I  have  thought 
upon  a  great  many  times;  it  has  given  me  great 
consolation.  Has  Melissa  been  rewarded  for  men- 
tioning the  sweet  name  of  Jesus  to  my  dying  child'? 
At  any  rate,  do  get  a  silver  dollar,  and  give  her  for 
me,  with  my  thanks.  Be  sure  to  comfort  your  dear 
afflicted  mother,  and  tell  her  to  cast  all  her  burdens 
upon  the  Lord. 

"Your  ever  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

No  one  who  has  read  thus  far,  and  certainly  no 
one  who  knew  Dr.  Baker  personally,  can  have  failed 
to  see  that  he  was  a  man  of  the  warmest  attach- 
ments. Toward  no  human  being  did  he  cherish 
unkind  feelings;  and  in  regard  to  all  men  it  was  his 
habit,  formed  by  principle  and  long  practice  into  a 
second  nature,  to  put  the  most  charitable  construc- 
tion on  their  conduct,  and  to  say  either  the  best  that 
could  be  said  of  them,  or  nothing  at  all.  Wherever 
he  discerned — and  he  had  a  quick  perception — any 
excellence  of  character,  there  his  heart  fastened  itself. 
For  each  child  of  God  he  had  that  ardent  love  which 
the  Apostle  gives  as  a  leading  proof  that  the  person 
loving  has  passed  from  death  to  life.  His  error  was 
that  he  had  too  great  faith  in  men,  especially  in 
professing  Christians ;  believed  all  they  said  to  him, 
hoped  all  they  promised  him;  that  disposition,  in  fact, 
which  is  commonly  known  as  simplicity  of  character. 
Even  when  made  aware  of  some  gross  imposition 
practised  upon  him,  his  feeling  toward  the  individual 
was  all  pity,  with  scarce  an  emotion  of  anger.     With 


276  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

all  this,  he  never  hesitated  to  express  himself  deci- 
dedly, where  principle  was  concerned,  whoever  was 
smitten  thereby;  but  this  was  generally  in  a  manner 
so  conciliatory  and  manifestly  sincere,  as  rarely  or 
never  to  give  offence.  Toward  his  own  family  he 
cherished  so  strong  an  attachment  as  to  lead  him 
rather  to  overrate  them;  and  this  made  his  estimate 
of  all  whom  he  loved,  in  or  out  of  his  own  household, 
an  unreliable  one  for  others.  All  could  not  look 
through  his  eyes;  too  hopeful,  too  charitable,  too 
glowing. 

His  ardent  and  happy  temperament  gave  him  the 
glow  of  perpetual  youth,  and,  till  his  death,  it  was 
frequently  his  playful  remark,  "  I  do  believe  now  I 
am  younger  than  any  of  my  children."  So  full  was 
he  of  playful  feeling,  so  heartily  did  he  enter  into  the 
joys  and  sorrows  of  youth,  that  he  was  always  their 
most  welcome  and  beloved  companion.  In  his  own 
home,  and  elsewhere,  he  was  careful  not  to  weary 
them  with  too  frequent  religious  conversation,  or 
family  worship  at  unseasonable  hours,  and  unduly 
prolonged.  In  his  study  he  permitted  no  interrup- 
tion, studying  whatever  related  to  his  profession,  and 
the  Bible  above  all;  writing  with  the  utmost  care, 
often  re-writing  again  and  again  whatever  was  to 
come  before  the  public;  but  out  of  his  study,  he 
would  relax  completely,  and  was  never  more  happy 
than  when  working  with  his  children  in  the  garden ; 
an  occupation  in  which  he  took  great  delight. 

Many  of  his  missionary  tours  were  made  with  a 
son  riding  in  the  gig  beside  him.  The  writer  well 
remembers  accompanying  him  on  such  a  tour  when 
a  boy;    the   more   distinctly   because    of    the   little 


277 

hymns  his  father  then  taught  him  as  they  journeyed 
along  the  solitudes  of  Florida  and  Georgia,  through 
deep  sand,  and  the  waving  of  great  forests.  Nor 
does  he  forget  how  often  his  father,  absorbed  in 
some  meditation,  riding  with  the  forgotten  rein  of 
his  horse  in  his  listless  hand,  was  rudely  wakened  to 
the  realities  of  life  by  the  upsetting  of  his  gig.  As 
the  writer,  three  times  in  succession,  found  himself 
lying  on  the  ground  with  his  father  upon  him,  he 
very  naturally  inferred  that  the  upsetting  obstacle 
w^as  upon  the  side  of  the  road  which  came  more 
under  his  father's  watch  than  his. 

And  here  the  question  will  arise.  To  what  degree 
can  a  father  who  is  a  minister,  permit  himself  to  be 
occupied  by  pubhc  duties,  to  the  comparative  neglect 
of  the  close,  and  personal,  and  perpetual  oversight 
and  education  of  his  own  children'?  It  was  a  fre- 
quent saying  with  Dr.  Baker,  "Duties  never  clash." 
Xo  head  of  a  family  ever  loved  those  of  his  own 
house  more  than  the  subject  of  this  Memoir;  yet, 
necessarily,  a  very  large  part  of  his  time  was  spent 
from  home;  consequently,  the  duties  of  a  father  were 
given  up  by  him  to  the  mother,  or  delegated  to 
teachers;  and  yet  no  parent  could  love,  or  make 
more  carefid  provision  for  his  household  than  he 
did.  It  is  impossible  to  say  that  he  neglected  the 
duty  of  husband  and  father  for  that  of  preacher  of 
the  gospel;  his  motive  was  too  sacred  and  self-sacri- 
ficing, the  blessing  of  God  on  his  labours  was  too 
manifest. 

The  autobiography  proceeds: 
When  about  lea\ing  Texas,  I  was  urged  to  return 
24 


278  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF   THE 

and  make  it  my  home ;  and  to  induce  me  so  to  do, 
several  persons  offered  to  make  me  a  present  of  land 
amounting  to  about  two  thousand  acres  in  all.  But 
I  was  unwilling  to  leave  "  the  States"  at  this  time  ; 
and  after  fulfilling  my  engagement  at  Gainesville,  I 
went  to  various  places  where  I  had  been  invited  to 
hold  protracted  meetings. 

From  the  pages  of  a  little  memorandum  book  we 
copy  the  following  rapid  journal,  kept  by  Dr.  Baker 
at  the  time  of  the  meetings  spoken  of  above. 

Tuesday  Morning^  February  13^A,  1844.  Left 
Holly  Springs  in  the  stage;  reached  Lexington  on 
Wednesday  afternoon,  and  preached  to  a  large  con- 
gregation at  night.  Keached  Vicksburg  on  Friday, 
16th;  attended  prayer-meeting  at  night.  Remained 
in  Vicksburg  until  Wednesday,  28th,  during  which 
period  preached  fifteen  sermons;  made  various  ad- 
dresses; congregations  large;  some  cases  of  awaken- 
ing; nothing  very  special.  On  the  evening  of  the 
28th,  preached  to  a  small  audience  at  Raymond; 
short  notice;  some  interest.  29th,  addressed  Mr. 
N's  school;  about  fifty  children  and  young  ladies 
present.  At  the  close,  addressed  adults;  a  goodly 
number  present.  In  the  afternoon,  called  to  see  Mr. 
W.  and  lady;  conversed  on  the  subject  of  religion; 
neither  is  a  professor;  seemed  interested.  At  night, 
preached  to  a  large  and  very  attentive  audience. 

Friday^  March  \st.  Reached  Jackson  before  sun- 
set. The  bell  was  rung  for  preaching,  but  just  as  we 
were  about  starting  it  began  to  rain  very  hard;  the 
pastor  thought  it  not  worth  while  to  go. 

Saturday^   2d,      Rainy   day,  streets   muddy;   yet 


REV.  DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  279 

preached  at  night  in  the  old  State-house;  rather 
small  congregation. 

Sabbath,  3d.  Preached  in  the  morning  in  same 
place ;  full  house.  In  the  afternoon  preached  in  the 
Methodist  church ;  some  feeling.  At  night  preached 
in  the  old  State-house ;  very  full  house — hard  rock. 

Monday,  4:th.  Prayer-meeting  at  ten  o'clock.  At 
night  preached  in  the  Methodist  church;  goodly 
number  out — Governor  B.  and  lady. 

Tuesday,  5  th.  In  the  morning,  meeting  for  mo- 
thers; well  attended;  much  tenderness.  At  night 
preached ;  congregation  as'  usual. 

Wednesday,  6th.  In  the  morning  preached  on 
the  subject  of  experimental  religion;  good  meeting. 
Afternoon  had  inquiry  meeting;  some  five  or  six 
present  besides  professors.  At  night  preached  to 
young  men ;  good  meeting. 

Thursday,  1th.  Preached  in  the  morning  and  at 
night. 

Friday,  8th.  No  preaching  until  night;  spent  the 
day  in  visiting. 

Saturday,  9th.  Preached  morning,  afternoon,  and 
night.     In  the  morning,  much  feeling. 

Sabbath,  lOth.  Attended  sunrise  prayer-meeting, 
as  for  four  preceding  mornings,  and  preached  five 
times  this  day;  at  nine  o'clock  in  penitentiary,  at 
eleven  in  church.  In  the  afternoon,  two  sermons; 
one  to  whites ;  immediately  after  .to  blacks,  and  again 
to  whites  at  night;  large  congregations,  particularly 
in  the  morning  and  at  night;  sacrament. 

Monday,  llth.     Rainy  day. 

Tuesday,  12th.  Went  to  Raymond,  and  preached 
at  night. 


280  LIFE  AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

Wednesday^  I'^th.  Attended  the  mothers'  meeting 
in  the  morning,  and  preached  at  night;  very  rainy; 
about  twenty  persons  present ;  spoke  to  Mr.  jS".  about 
his  devoting  himself  to  the  ministry,  and  found  he 
was  much  incUned  that  way. 

Thursday^  \4ith.  Preached  in  the  afternoon;  one 
lady  in  particular  very  much  wrought  upon.  Preached 
at  night;  hope  some  good  was  done. 

Friday^  1 5th.  Reached  Brandon,  and  preached  at 
night  to  a  pretty  large  congregation. 

Saturday/,  16th.  Preached  in  the  morning.  In  the 
afternoon  addressed  children,  and  at  night  preached 
again. 

Sabbath,  1 1th.  Preached  to  crowded  house  in  the 
morning;  long  sermon;  good  impression.  Preached 
in  the  afternoon;  then  addressed  coloured  people. 
At  night  preached  again;  much  feeling. 

Monday,  l^th.  Preached  in  the  morning  and  at 
night;  interest  increasing.  In  the  afternoon  had  a 
mothers'  meeting,  one  of  the  best  of  the  kind  I  had 
ever  attended. 

Tuesday,  19  th.  Preached  three  times,  and  invited 
the  anxious  to  remain ;  had  a  melting  time ;  four  or 
five  persons  professed  conversion.  This  afternoon  at 
the  close  of  service,  took  a  vote  whether  the  meeting 
should  be  continued  another  day;  nearly  all  in  the 
house  arose,  and  very  promptly. 

Wednesday,  20thi.  Spent  the  morning  in  visiting, 
and  preached  in  the  afternoon  and  at  night;  two  or 
three  cases  of  hopeful  conversion  this  day.  At  night 
took  a  vote  for  continuing  the  meeting  another  day 
longer;  same  result. 

Thursday,  21st.     Preached  in  the  afternoon,  and 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  281 

held  an  inquiry  meeting.  Preached  at  night,  and 
invited  the  serious  to  remain;  about  thirty-five 
awakened,  of  whom  some  ten  or  twelve  were  hope- 
fully converted.     Blessed  be  God! 

Friday^  22d.  Rode  to  Canton,  and  preached  at 
night  to  a  small  congregation. 

Saturday^  23d,  Preached  morning,  afternoon,  and 
night;  some  interest. 

Sabbath,  24:th.  Attended  prayer-meeting  at  nine 
o'clock,  and  made  an  address  at  the  commencement. 
Preached  in  the  afternoon  and  at  night;  solemn 
time. 

Monday ,  2Dth.  Preached  on  experimental  reli- 
gion in  the  morning;  in  the  afternoon  addressed 
mothers;  great  many  present;  much  tender  feeling. 
Preached  again  at  night. 

Tuesday,  26th.  Addressed  children  in  the  after- 
noon, and  preached  at  night;  think  a  deep  impres- 
sion was  made. 

Wednesday,  21th.  Attended  inquiry  meeting; 
thin;  had  been  heavy  rain,  yet  four  or  five  present. 
Supposed  I  had  preached  my  last  sermon  last  night, 
but  was  encouraged  to  make  appointment  for  this 
evening.  At  night,  preached  to  a  larger  audience 
than  was  expected;  great  solemnity. 

Thursday,  28th.  Preached  at  S.  to  perhaps  one 
hundred  and  forty  hearers ;  believe  good  impression 
was  made.  Preached  also  at  night;  had  a  thunder 
storm. 

Friday,  29th.  Reached  Camden;  weather  very 
unfavourable ;  cold,  yet  preached  twice. 

Saturday,   SOth.      Preached   in   the   morning   at 
church,  and  at  night  at  Mr.  M's. 
24* 


282  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

Sabbath,  Slst.  Preaclicd;  large  audience.  Talked 
to  blacks.     Preached  again  at  church,  and  at  night. 

April,  1st.  Preached  two  sermons  at  church; 
several  persons  anxious.     Preached  also  at  night. 

Tuesday,  2d.  Preached  in  the  morning  to  a  good 
congregation;  in  afternoon,  addressed  children  and 
mothers ;  at  night  preached  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  F. ; 
two  or  three  converts.     Pichland — preached. 

Fridai/,  bth.  ^Reached  Franklin,  and  left  on  Tues- 
day, 9th.  Preached  fourteen  sermons,  and  made 
several  exhortations;  it  was  hoped  that  much  good 
was  done,  although  not  more  than  three  or  four  pro- 
fessed conversion. 

Wednesday,  10th.  Preached  at  Benton  at  night; 
people  much  interested;  greatly  desirous  that  I 
should  return. 

Thursday,  11th.  Preached  at  Yazoo  City  at  night 
to  a  pretty  good  congregation;  had  little  or  no 
liberty  in  consequence  of  echo. 

Friday,  12th.  Preached  in  the  morning  to  a 
handful ;  in  afternoon  addressed  professors ;  had  large 
congregation.     At  night,  preached  again. 

Saturday,  l^th.  Preached  three  times;  congre- 
gation increasing  in  size  and  interest. 

Sabbath,  1-lth.  Brother  Mclnnis  was  installed; 
brother  Smiley  preached  the  installation  sermon; 
brother  Gray  gave  charges. 

The  narrative  proceeds: 

My  support  was  precarious;  and  feeling  it  very 
unpleasant  to  be  absent  so  much  from  my  family, 
I  longed  to  "  cast  anchor."  I  wanted  a  home  !  In 
about  six  months  after  my  return  from  Texas,  I  re- 
ceived an  invitation  to  the  church  at  Holly  Springs, 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  283 

Mississippi,  at  that  time  very  small;  so  small,  in- 
deed, that,  as  a  certain  uneducated  man  remarked, 
"it  required  a  telescope  to  see  it."  I  accepted  of 
the  invitation;  brought  my  family  there;  and,  pur- 
chasing a  very  humble  establishment  in  the  town  for, 
I  think,  four  hundred  dollars,  I  took  possession  of 
my  log-cabin  with  devout  feelings  of  gratitude  and 
joy.  I  had  a  home,  at  last ;  and,  humble  as  it  was, 
it  was  to  me  like  a  little  palace.  My  labours  were 
blessed  as  a  pastor,  and  enjoying  the  affections,  as  I 
believed,  of  the  people  of  my  charge,  I  was  a  happy 
man.  I  remained  in  Holly  Springs  some  nine  years, 
preaching,  at  different  times,  with  varied  success. 
As  the  church  found  it  difficult  to  raise  the  full 
amount  of  my  salary,  (one  thousand  dollars,)  I  was 
permitted  to  have  a  certain  portion  of  my  time  to 
dispose  of  as  suited  me;  and,  in  accordance  with  my 
habits  and  peculiar  turn  of  mind,  I  held  numerous 
protracted  meetings,  which  were  uniformly  more  or 
less  blessed.  One  was  in  Dr.  Edgar's  church,  Nash- 
ville; another  in  Denmark,  Tennessee. 

One  who  was  at  this  time  an  elder  in  Dr.  Edgar's 
church,  thus  speaks,  after  the  death  of  Dr.  Baker,  in 
regard  to  the  meeting  alluded  to. 

"According  to  the  almost  general  custom  at  the 
West,  a  four  days'  meeting  was  held  by  this  church 
at  its  communion  services;  and  it  was  also  customary, 
if  practicable,  to  obtain  the  aid  of  other  preachers 
beside  the  pastor.  On  the  occasion  of  which  we  now 
speak,  Hev.  Mr.  Baker,  who  at  the  time  had  charge 
of  a  church  at  Holly  Springs,  Mississippi,  accepted 
our  invitation  to  assist  Dr.  Edgar,    After  Mr.  Baker's 


284  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

second  sermon,  a  great  degree  of  solemnity  was  appa- 
rent through  the  congregation;  and  it  was  dismissed 
under  a  trembling  hope  of  many  of  the  church  that 
God  was  about  to  send  forth  his  Holy  Spirit  among 
the  people.  From  this  time  there  was  no  diminution 
of  interest  during  the  entire  period  of  his  visit,  which 
lasted  about  a  fortnight.  In  that  time  he  preached 
twenty-seven  times,  besides  giving  exhortations,  and 
conversing  with  those  who  attended  the  inquiry 
meetings. 

"Day  as  well  as  night  meetings  were  appointed, 
and  were  well  attended.  Business  men  so  arranged 
their  affairs  as  to  attend  in  numbers ;  females,  for  a 
time,  threw  aside  the  thoughts  of  other  matters ;  and 
the  salvation  of  the  soid  seemed  the  great  absorbing 
subject  of  all  classes.  Mr.  Baker  exercised  his  pecu- 
liar faculty  for  arousing  the  dormant  feelings  of 
Christians,  and  bringing  conviction  to  the  hearts  of 
the  unconverted,  and  it  was  not  long  ere  numbers 
were  inquiring  as  to  what  they  should  do  to  be  saved. 
Quiet  solemnity  pervaded  all  the  meetings,  and  the 
most  fastidious  could  make  no  objection  on  the  score 
of  over- wrought  feeling  or  religious  fanaticism.  The 
young  and  the  old,  the  fashionable  and  unfashionable, 
the  wealthy  and  the  poor,  were  merged  in  one  com- 
mon cause,  and  engaged  in  one  common  devotion, 
until  a  large  number  of  true  penitents  had  presented 
themselves  as  candidates  for  admission  to  the  sealing 
ordinances  of  the  church. 

"In  two  weeks  after  the  first  communion,  it  was 
adjudged  expedient  and  proper  by  the  pastor  and 
session  to  hold  another;  when  about  forty  were 
admitted.     Among   them  were  many  quite   young, 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  285 

and  an  old  gentleman  who  had  imbibed  infidel  prin- 
ciples in  youth,  and  now,  at  seventy  years  of  age, 
still  held  them.  He  was  directed  by  an  unseen  hand 
and  power,  to  attend  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  a 
prayer-meeting,  and  was  soon  brought  to  acknow- 
ledge as  his  Saviour  that  Jesus  whom  he  had  despised. 
Although  the  special  meetings  were  suspended  soon 
after  Mr.  Baker's  return  to  his  charge,  the  good 
spirit  that  was  enkindled  seemed  to  remain  in  the 
church,  and  at  the  next  communion  another  large 
number  was  added ;  making  a  ^total,  if  my  memory 
serves  me  right,  of  nearly  one  hundred,  who  were 
brought  into  the  church  as  the  fruit  of  this  man's 
faithful  labours.  Deeply  is  the  remembrance  of 
these  scenes  engraven  on  my  own  heart,  and  often 
does  it  animate  my  soul  as  I  engage  in  social  or 
other  prayer  for  the  revival  of  God's  work  now. 
The  great  glory  of  this  work  of  grace  was  its  genu- 
ineness and  permanent  effects  on  the  church.  I  have 
no  hesitancy  in  saying,  that  its  influence  is  felt  to 
this  day,  not  only  in  the  First  Church  in  Nashville, 
but  also  through  all  that  city.  Many  of  its  subjects 
have  been  ever  since,  and  are  now  among  the  faith- 
ful labourers  in  that  portion  of  God's  vineyard.  In 
a  conversation  with  Dr.  Edgar,  some  years  after,  we 
naturally  recurred  to  this  happy  period  to  both  of 
us,  and  in  reply  to  a  question  on  my  part,  as  to  the 
subsequent  lives  of  those  who  had  then  professed 
their  love  to  Christ,  he  answered,  that  they  were 
such  as  to  draw  out  his  thanksgiving  to  God;  he 
had  never  known  a  body  of  professors  more  faithful; 
and  while  many  might  have  lost,  in  a  degree,  the 
power  of  their  first  love,  he  could  not  remember  one 


286  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

who  had  been  made  a  subject  of  the  discipline  of  the 
church. 

"  Were  this  revival  of  God's  work  the  only  instance 
of  the  success  of  tliis  faithful  man,  as  an  instrument 
of  good  to  the  churcli  and  the  world,  it  would  be  of 
itself  a  trophy  for  which  angels  might  contend;  but, 
as  is  well  known,  it  is  but  one  of  a  multitude;  and 
all  that  he  was  enabled  by  his  great  Master  to 
accomplish,  ought  to  inspire  profound  gratitude  in 
every  part  of  the  Zion  of  God,  and  be  the  means  of 
awaking  a  desire  and  determination  on  the  part  of 
every  minister  of  the  word  to  follow  his  noble  exam- 
ple, and  reap  the  same  precious  reward. 

"Daniel  Baker  is  no  longer  among  us,  but  the 
same  light  that  followed  his  footsteps  while  upon 
earth  will  illumine  his  memory  to  the  latest  period 
of  the  church  mihtant,  and  be  merged  in  one  still 
more  glorious  in  the  church  triumphant." 

The  following  letters  cast  light  on  this  period. 
(to  his  wife.) 

"Pulaski,  May  5th,  1842. 

"My  dear  Eliza — Our  meeting  in  Tuscumbia 
was  closed  on  Sunday  night  last.  It  was  a  good 
meeting ;  some  thirteen  or  fourteen  persons  professed 
conversion,  nearly  all  of  whom  were  married  ladies 
and  heads  of  families.  There  was  only  one  young 
unmarried  person  among  the  converts — he  a  .youth 
about  Ws  age.  O,  that  W.  would  follow  his  exam- 
ple. I  reached  this  place  in  time  to  preach  on  Tues- 
day evening.  The  people  turn  out  here  extremely 
well,  and  we  anticipate  a  divine  blessing,  and,  of 
course,  good  times. 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  287 

"I  trust  I  shall  be  the  honoured  instrument  of 
leading  many  souls  to  Christ  during  my  tour;  and 
what  is  more,  I  hope  some  of  them  will  in  due  time 
be  made  heralds  of  the  cross.  I  think  it  quite  likely 
that  this  will  be  the  case  with  two  of  the  converts  in 
Florence — one  the  son  of  brother  S.,  who  died  last 
summer,  and  the  other  a  cousin  of  his.  This  plan  of 
visiting  the  churches,  and  holding  protracted  meet- 
ings, I  think  a  very  good  one,  and  with  the  divine 
blessing,  must,  I  think,  lead  to  very  happy  and  very 
important  results.  But  I  confess  it  makes  me  feel 
rather  unpleasantly  sometimes,  to  be  absent  from  my 
family  and  the  people  of  my  charge  so  long.  Do  tell 
the  elders  to  be  sure  to  have  preaching  as  often  as 
possible,  and  by  all  means  to  keep  up  the  weekly 
prayer-meeting. 

"  I  must  tell  you  a  little  incident  of  my  travels. 
Tuesday  last  was  a  very  rainy  day,  and  as  we  were 
travelling  heavily  through  the  mud  and  mire,  we  saw 
an  old  woman  trudging  along  the  road,  without  shoes 
or  stockings,  with  a  large  bundle  under  her  arm. 
Astonished  to  see  so  old  a  person  out  in  such  weather, 
and  travelling  in  such  style,  I  got  out  of  the  carriage, 
and  became  a  sort  of  fellow  foot-traveller  of  hers.  I 
asked  her  how  old  she  was.  '  Eighty- four  years,'  said 
she.  'And  how  many  miles  have  you  to  go  this  bad 
weather]'  'Eighteen,'  replied  she.  'But,'  said  I, 
'  you  are  too  old  to  be  travelHng  in  this  way ;  you 
will  get  sick.  Why  don't  you  make  your  sons  help 
you  onV  'Why,'  said  she,  'I  never  had  but  one  son, 
and  that  was  a  gal!'  Giving  her  fifty  cents,  I  advised 
her  to  stop  at  the  first  house,  and  wait  for  better 


288  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF   THE 

weather.     She   seemed  very  thankful,  and   stopped 
accordingly. 

"Your  affectionate  husband, 

Daniel  Baker." 

"Pulaski,  May  12lh,  1842. 

"My  dear  SoN: — I  have  preached  fifteen  sermons 
in  this  place  already;  I  preach  in  the  morning  and 
at  night.  The  people  come  out  in  crowds.  I  think 
I  never  saw  people  turn  out  better  in  any  place  where 
I  have  been;  and  I  am  happy  to  say,  we  have  the 
prospect  of  a  very  great  and  blessed  work  of  grace 
here.  There  is  a  very  general  awakening,  and  some 
ten  or  twelve  persons  have  already  professed  conver- 
sion. We  hope  this  number  will  be  considerably 
increased  within  a  few  days.  How  strange !  Your 
father  is  made  the  instrument  of  the  conversion  of 
many  abroad,  and  there  is  a  dear  son  at  home  yet 
unconverted.  O,  my  dear  son,  how  happy  would  I 
be  to  be  made  your  spiritual  father^  even  as  I  am 
your  own  father  in  a  natural  sense.  My  dear  boy, 
do  not  neglect  your  precious  soul. 

"God  bless  you,  my  son;  and  may  you  be  happy 
in  time,  and  through  all  eternity. 

"Your  ever  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

"Holly  Springs,  August  I5th,  1842. 

"Dear  brother  Galloway — When  absent  from 
home  last  spring,  I  attended  several  protracted  meet- 
ings, in  nearly  all  of  which  we  had  pleasing  proofs 
of  the   divine   presence.      The    converts,   however, 


REY.    DANIEL    BAKER,    D.  D.  289 

were  not  numerous,  only  about  some  fifty  or  sixty 
in  all;  but  when  we  think  of  the  value  of  the  soul, 
even  this  is  a  great  matter.  Two  or  three  of  those 
hopefully  converted  will,  I  trust,  devote  themselves 
to  the  gospel  ministry.  One  is  a  son  of  our 
lamented  brother  S.,  and  the  other  a  nephew.  I 
have  been  invited  to  assist  at  a  protracted  meeting, 
to  be  held  in  a  town  called  Denmark,  some  sixty  or 
seventy  miles  from  this  place.  I  trust  we  shall  have 
a  blessing;  and  I  am  more  encouraged  from  the  fact 
that  the  Lord  has  recently  poured  out  his  Spirit  in 
various  places  in  the  region  round  about.  O,  for 
more  zeal  in  our  Master's  cause!  O,  for  a  holy 
enthusiasm!  for  such  an  enthusiasm  as  animated  the 
Apostle  Paul,  when  he  exclaimed,  'The  love  of 
Christ  constraineth  us.'  I  do  think,  my  dear  brother, 
that  many  of  us  Presbyterian  ministers  might  be 
vastly  more  useful  than  we  are,  if  we  could  only  be 
brought  to  go  the  whole  amount,  and  lay  out  our 
full  strength  in  the  cause  of  God.  Do,  my  brother, 
pray  for  me.  I  expect  to  attend  several  protracted 
meetings  this  fall;  and  I  do  hope  that  the  Master 
will  crown  them  every  one  with  his  blessing.  I 
preached  once  to  your  people  when  at  Springfield, 
and  from  what  I  could  see  and  hear,  I  think  you 
have  much  reason  to  thank  God  and  take  courage. 
"Yours  sincerely, 

Daniel  Baker." 

Narrative  continued. 

One  of  the  meetings  was  in  St.  Charles,  and 
another  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  in  both  of  which 
places  strong  encouragements  were  held  out  to  me 
25 


290  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

to  make  a  settlement.  In  one  case,  the  matter  pro- 
ceeded so  far,  that  I  actually  gave  notice  of  my  in- 
tention to  resign  my  charge,  and  requested  the  con- 
gregation forthwith  to  unite  with  me  in  a  petition 
to  the  Presbytery  to  dissolve  the  pastoral  connection. 
A  vote  was  taken,  and  a  reluctant  consent  was  given. 
Immediately  I  entered  upon  preparations  for  leaving, 
when,  lo!  before  the  next  Sabbath  arrived,  the 
people  changed  their  mind,  and  utterly  refused  to 
let  me  go.  So  the  idea  of  going  to  St.  Charles  was 
given  up,  much  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  people 
there. 

Frequent  and  important  were  the  moves  which 
Dr.  Baker  made  in  life;  and  even  the  least  was  not 
made  until  after  an  earnest  seeking  of  wisdom  from 
God.  To  this,  when  looking  back  upon  his  long 
and  varied  life  from  near  its  close,  he  ascribed  the 
fact  that  he  had  never  made  a  move  which  he 
had  afterwards  cause  to  regret.  When  any  impor- 
tant step  was  before  him,  he  would  always  spend  a 
day,  solemnly  set  apart  for  the  purpose,  in  fasting 
and  prayer  for  divine  guidance.  And  so,  not  a  jour- 
ney was  entered  upon,  however  miimportant,  no 
business  was  transacted,  no  important  letter  written, 
or  visit  paid,  or  conversation  held,  but  was  preceded 
by  special  prayer  for  wisdom  from  above. 

At  the  close  of  a  protracted  meeting  in  a  certain 
place,  he  expressed  one  night  to  the  pastor,  with 
whom  he  was  staying,  some  doubt  as  to  whither  he 
should  on  the  morrow  bend  his  steps.  "Never 
mind,"  said  he,  "  I  will  know  what  to  do  when  the 
moment  for   decision   arrives."      Next  morning,  at 


REV.    DANIEL    BAKER,    D.  D.  291 

breakfast,  lie  remarked,  "Last  night  I  lacked  just 
ten  dollars  of  money  enough  to  reach  a  point  I 
desired  to  visit  next;  but  I  committed  the  matter  to 
God,  and  this  morning  I  was  met,  in  a  walk  I  took, 
by  a  stranger,  who  stopped  me,  and  pressed  ten  dol- 
lars on  my  acceptance.  To  my  inquiry  what  I  was 
to  do  with  it,  '  O,'  he  said,  '  anything  you  please,'  and 
so  left  me.  Now  I  can  go  to  that  point."  This  is 
only  one  of  many  similar  providences.  Whatever 
darkness  rested  on  his  path,  he  never  suffered  it  to 
trouble  him  in  the  least,  so  serene  was  his  faith  in 
God.  "What  is  the  use  of  having  such  precious  pro- 
mises in  Scripture,  like  jewels  in  a  casket,"  he  would 
say,  "if  we  never  take  them  out  and  use  them]" 
His  habitual  custom  was  to  endeavour  to  fall  asleep 
at  night  with  prayerful  thoughts  in  his  mind;  to 
wake  in  the  morning,  his  first  breath  prayer: 
"Divine  Master,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  this 
dayT'  was  the  spirit,  and  often  form  of  his  first 
waking  thoughts. 

Those  who  have  followed  this  man  of  God  as  he 
led  the  way  to  the  Throne  of  Grace,  will  remember 
that  he  trod  as  along  a  path  familiar  to  his  feet. 
He  greatly  disliked  making  public  prayer  a  mode  of 
exhortation,  or  statement  of  any  kind,  or  of  deco- 
rating it  with  flowers  and  figures  of  speech.  He 
regarded  prayer  as  addressed  to  God,  and  in  no  sense 
to  the  people;  and  he  endeavoured  to  clothe  his 
addresses  at  the  mercy-seat  in  words  left  by  the 
Spirit  on  the  page  of  Scripture.  The  fulness,  scrip- 
tural richness,  heartfelt  simphcity,  and  sincerity  of 
his  public  prayers,  no  one  who  knew  him  can  ever 
forget.     In  the  prayer-meeting,  at  the  family  altar, 


292  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OT   THE 

in  the  sick-room,  at  the  meetings  of  church  judicato- 
ries, his  prayers  were  always  adapted  to  the  pecu- 
liar circumstances.  Whenever  he  led  in  worship, 
he  stood  as  if  with  his  foot  upon  the  step  of  the 
Throne — as  if  with  his  hand  grasping  the  priestly 
robe  of  the  great  High  Priest — not  famihar  or  irre- 
verent in  the  least  degree,  yet  coming  boldly  to  the 
Throne  of  Grace — with  him  the  alone  source  of  all 
blessing — for  this  express  and  only  purpose,  that  he 
might  obtain  mercy,  and  find  grace  to  help  in  that 
special  time  of  need. 

Family  worsliip  was  the  most  invariable  part  of 
the  household  routine,  Avith  the  exceptions  already 
alluded  to.  As  to  private  devotions,  his  uniform 
practice  was  to  spend  the  first  hour  of  the  day  in 
his  study,  in  these.  The  hour  of  sunset  was  his 
favourite  time  for  evening  prayer;  and  he  woidd 
endeavour  to  have  the  time  fixed  for  family  wor- 
ship at  night  as  soon  as  possible  after  supper,  before 
even  the  youngest  became  sleepy.  In  all  his  tra- 
vels a  well-worn  Testament  was  his  inseparable 
companion ;  and  as  he  often  had  to  pass  the  night, 
with  many  others,  in  the  one  room  of  some  cabin 
by  the  roadside,  the  early  dawn  of  morning  and 
the  starry  shades  of  night  would  find  him  in  some 
secluded  spot  of  field  or  grove,  holding  that  commu- 
nion with  God  more  essential  to  his  happiness  than 
aught  else.  He  disliked  any  thing  which  prevented 
him  from  going  direct  from  his  closet  into  the  pulpit ; 
never  permitted  any  thing  to  prevent  this  when  he 
could  help  it.  He  had  also  made  it,  by  use,  a  second 
nature  to  engage  in  ejaculatory  prayer;  frequent,  but 
silent  and  brief  prayer  during  the  rapid  business  of 


D.  D.  293 

the  day.  None  but  one  as  familiarly  associated  with 
him  as  the  writer  of  these  lines  Avould  have  known 
this,  for  there  was  nothing  of  the  Pharisee  in  his 
devotions ;  no  moment  at  which  he  did  not  seem  to 
be  in  his  usual  genial  and  accessible  mood,  ready  for 
any  good  word  or  work.  But  here  was  the  secret  of 
all  that  he  was,  and  of  all  that  he  accomplished ; 

"When  one  that  holds  communion  with  the  skies, 
Has  filled  his  urn  where  those  pure  waters  rise, 
And  once  more  mingles  with  us  meaner  things, 
'Tis  e'en  as  if  an  angel  shook  his  wings. 
Immortal  fragrance  fills  the  circuit  wide. 
That  tells  us  whence  his  treasures  are  supplied. 
So,  when  a  ship,  well-freighted  with  the  stores 
The  sun  matures  on  India's  spicy  shores, 
Has  dropped  her  anchor  and  her  canvass  furled 
In  some  safe  haven  of  our  western  world, 
'Twere  vain  inquiry  to  what  port  she  went; — 
The  gale  informs  us,  laden  with  the  scent."'   ' 

All  his  springs  were  in  God,  and  he  abode  near  those 
springs  as  at  the  one  oasis  in  a  desert  world.  If  this 
branch  bore  much  fruit,  it  was  solely  and  only  be- 
cause it  abode  in  the  vine.  If  God  the  Holy  Ghost 
wrought  in  and  by  him,  it  was  because  such  was  his 
unceasing  petition  at  the  Throne  of  Grace;  and  to 
what  child  of  God  is  not  this  throne  equally  accessi- 
ble through  Jesus  Christ!  If  all  ministers  of  the 
gospel  were,  by  close  communion  with  God,  channels 
thus  of  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  others 
through  them,  how  great,  how  overwhelming  would 
be  the  presence  of  this  divine  agent  upon  the  church 
and  the  world! 

We  resume  the  autobiography. 

On  one  occasion  a  singular  proposition  was  made 
to  me,  which,  however,  I  accepted.  The  Eev.  Angus 
25* 


294  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

Johnson,  a  co-prcsbyter,  and  a  very  zealous  brother, 
wishmg  me  to  visit  certain  very  destitute  places  in 
Mississippi,  offered  to  give  me  one  hundred  dollars 
for  one  month,  if  I  would  go  along  with  him  and  do 
all  the  preaching  he  might  require.  His  proposition 
was  acceded  to,  and  away  we  went,  through  cane- 
brakes  and  regions  of  country  where  scarcely  the 
form  of  any  preacher  had  been  seen  before.  Brother 
Johnson  was  a  pretty  hard  master,  but  as  I  had  my- 
self some  liking  for  the  service  exacted,  I  did  not  fly 
from  my  contract.  I  preached  many  sermons,  and  I 
hope  many  precious  souls  were  converted.  But  my 
hire — did  I  get  that  ]  Yes ;  the  full  amount  stipu- 
lated was  promptly  paid. 

During  the  period  of  my  connection  with  the 
church  in  Holly  Springs  we  were  favoured  with 
several  seasons  of  refreshing ;  one  was  under  my  own 
ministry,  one  when  I  was  aided  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Van- 
court,  of  Denmark,  and  another  under  the  ministe- 
rial labours  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  M.,  of  Canton.  The 
one  most  remarkable  took  place  during  the  visit  of 
Mr.  V.  Many  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  the 
town  were  brought  in;  among  the  rest,  Mr.  M.,  who, 
at  a  subsequent  period,  became  a  leading  man  in  the 
eldership. 

At  this  time  Dr.  Baker  writes  as  follows: 

"HoLLT  Springs,  December  21sf,  1842. 

"Dear  Brother  Galloway — I  have  some  very 
pleasing  intelligence  to  communicate.  We  have  had 
a  blessed  and  powerful  work  of  grace  in  my  church. 
We  had  a  protracted  meeting  in  September  last,  and 


KEY.  DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  295 

about  seventy  precious  souls  were  made,  as  I  hope, 
to  bow  at  the  feet  of  our  blessed  Redeemer !  Pro- 
tracted meetings  were  held  nearly  about  the  same 
time  in  all  the  other  churches;  and  the  result  of  the 
whole  is,  the  hopeful  conversion  of  more  than  two 
hundred  souls  in  our  town!  To  God  be  all  the 
glory!  Amongst  the  converts  in  my  church,  I  am 
peculiarly  happy  to  say  is  my  youngest  son,  who  has 
already  turned  his  attention  to  the  sacred  office. 
Once  he  was  deeply  tinctured  with  the  principles  of 
infidelity,  and  was  a  great  admirer  of  Byron;  but, 
after  his  conversion,  when  asked  whether  he  was 
willing  to  be  a  preacher,  he  replied,  with  much  emo- 
tion, 'Pa,  I  would  be  willing  to  be  a  ditcher,  for 
Christ's  sake.'  I  have  sent  him  to  Princeton  to  pre- 
pare, if  it  be  the  Divine  will,  to  preach  the  glorious 
gospel  of  the  blessed  God.  I  have  another  son,  who 
was  last  week  taken  under  the  care  of  our  Presbytery 
as  a  candidate  for  the  gospel  ministry.  How  greatly 
have  I  been  blessed!     Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul! 

"  In  pursuance  of  an  arrangement  made  with  my 
people,  that  I  should  have  a  certain  portion  of  my 
time,  I  have  lately  returned  from  a  missionary  tour 
of  five  weeks.  During  that  period  I  preached  about 
seventy  times,  and  it  pleased  God  to  bless  my 
labours  to  the  hopeful  conversion  of  more  than 
eighty  souls.  Many  of  them  are  persons  of  standing 
and  influence,  and  a  goodly  number  are  young  men 
of  considerable  promise ;  three  or  four  of  whom  have 
already  announced  their  purpose  to  devote  them- 
selves to  the  service  of  God  in  the  gospel  ministry. 
I  do  think,  my  dear  brother,  that  pastors  may  do 
much  good  by  occasionally  going  on  missionary  ex 


296  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF   THE 

cursions.  The  very  great  pressure  of  the  times  has 
made  it  impossible  for  my  people  fully  to  support 
me,  and  this  has  led  me  out  into  other  fields,  and  the 
result  has  been  happy.  What  I  shall  do  the  next 
year  I  know  not ;  but  I  believe  the  Lord  will  direct. 
I  have  lately  received  an  invitation  from  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Louisville  to  ride  as  a  missionary  in  their 
bounds,  with  a  salary  of  one  thousand  dollars,  and 
the  promise  of  more  if  required.  I  may  accept,  and 
I  may  not.  I  have  committed  the  matter  to  the 
Lord.     Time  will  make  known  all  things. 

"Wishing  you  and  your  dear  family  every  bless- 
ing, temporal  and  spiritual,  I  subscribe  myself, 

"As  formerly,  as  ever, 

"Yours  in  a  precious  Saviour, 

Daniel  Baker." 

The  narrative  proceeds: 

It  was  at  this  time  that  one  of  my  sons  professed 
conversion.  He  had,  when  very  young,  with  his 
brother  D.,  been  brought  under  very  strong  religious 
exercises,  at  the  Institute,  near  Marion;  but  those 
early  impressions  had,  it  seems,  passed  away;  and 
now,  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  reading  law,  he 
seems  to  have  become  quite  forgetful  of  his  soul's 
eternal  interests;  nay,  more,  he  seems  to  have 
become  spiced  with  scepticism,  and  once  told  me 
plainly,  that  he  could  never  believe  in  that  religion 
which  would  send  such  a  man  as  Byron  to  hell.  I 
reasoned  with  him,  and  finally  wound  up  with  this 
remark:  "Well,  my  son,  I  hope  you  will  be  con- 
verted yet;  aye,  and  become  a  preacher,  too."  As  I 
made  this  remark,  the  native  enmity  of  the  human 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  297 

heart  began  to  work,  and  said  he,  with  strong 
emotion,  "Pa,  I  had  rather  be  a  ditcher  than  a 
preacher !"  It  was,  I  think,  only  some  four  weeks 
after  this  that  he  was  numbered  ^  with  the  anxious. 
His  convictions  were  apparently  very  deep,  and  he 
was  brought  near  the  borders  of  despair. 

On  one  occasion,  I  remember  it  well,  he  went 
from  the  inquiry  meeting  directly  up  to  his  chamber. 
After  remaming  there  a  time,  engaged  in  prayer,  he 
came  into  the  duiing-room,  where  his  mother  and 
myself  were.  Standing  before  me,  with  a  sad  coun- 
tenance, he  said,  "Papa,  I  don't  think  I  will  go  to 
the  inquiry  meeting  any  more."  "Why,  my  son  1" 
"Pa,  I  can't  be  converted."  "Oyes,  my  son,  you 
can."  "No,  pa,  my  heart  is  so  hard  I  can't  be  con- 
verted." "Why,  my  son,  the  blessed  Jesus  is  able 
and  willing  to  do  every  thing  for  you."  It  seems 
to  have  been  a  new  thought.  The  way  of  salvation 
was  made  plain,  and  he  was  enabled  to  receive 
Christ  as  offered  in  the  gospel.  In  a  few  moments  a 
sweet  smile  came  over  his  countenance.  I  suspected 
what  had  taken  place,  and  my  arms  were  around  the 
young  convert,  and  his  mother's  too.  And  there,  in 
that  same  dining-room,  a  scene  was  presented  worth 
an  angel's  visit  from  the  skies.  After  we  were  all 
more  composed,  said  I  to  him,  "My  son,  are  you  not 
willing  to  be  a  preacher  nowl"  With  much  emotion, 
he  replied,  "  Pa,  I  would  be  willing  to  be  a  ditcher 
for  Christ's  sake."  That  was  music  to  my  ears. 
Soon  after  this,  he  gave  up  the  idea  of  the  legal  pro- 
fession, and  in  a  few  weeks,  even  in  the  depth  of 
winter,  he  set  out  for  Princeton,  via  New  Orleans 
and  New  York. 


298  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

Here,  for  the  sake  of  historical  connection,  I  may 
mention  a  circumstance  which  occurred  several  years 
after.  W.  had  finished  his  classical  course.  He 
had  graduated  in  Nassau  Hall  College,  with  one  of 
the  honours  of  the  institution.  He  had  returned  to 
the  home  of  his  parents,  and  the  time  had  nearly 
arrived  when  he  wished  to  go  on  again  to  Princeton, 
to  join  his  brother,  who  was  already  in  the  Theolo- 
gical Seminary.  It  was  his  wish  to  go;  it  was 
mine,  also.  But  it  was  necessary  to  get  one  hun- 
dred dollars.  I  told  him  I  had  not  the  amount,  but 
would  get  it,  if  I  had  to  mortgage  some  little  prop- 
erty which  I  had  in  the  State  of  Ohio.  I  called 
upon  a  warm  friend  of  mine,  who  was  usually  flush. 
I  mentioned  the  case,  and  requested  liim  to  lend  me 
the  amount  for  a  short  time.  He  said  that  really  he 
had  not  it.  Disappointed  when  I  was  confident  of 
success,  and  finding  that  my  son  was  anxious  to  go 
on  in  few  days,  I  felt  that  I  was  in  a  close  place; 
but  my  rule  during  almost  my  whole  life  has  been, 
when  in  trouble,  to  lay  all  such  matters  before  God 
in  prayer;  and  now  an  old  disciple,  I  can  put  to  my 
seal  that  the  precious  promises,  yea,  all  the  promises 
of  God  recorded  in  Scripture,  are  true,  and  may  be 
relied  upon. 

Now,  what  a  remarkable  providence  was  connected 
with  this  matter.  Being  invited  to  administer  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  in  a  small  country 
church,  some  forty  miles  distant,  I  preached  from 
these  words,  "Alleluia,  for  the  Lord  God  omnipo- 
tent reigneth!"  I  had  some  liberty  in  speaking. 
There  was  an  elder  present  who  had  had  some  pecu- 
liar domestic  trials.     x\t  the  close  of  the  services,  he 


REV.    DANIEL    BAKER,    D.  D.  299 

invited  me  to  go  home  with  him ;  and  when  we  were 
alone  in  one  of  his  rooms,  he  said  to  me,  "Mr. 
Baker,  your  sermon  this  morning  has  done  me  more 
good  than  any  sermon  I  have  heard  for  ten  years. 
Mr.  Baker,"  added  he,  "what  do  you  intend  to  do 
with  your  son  W.  f  "  He  has  the  ministry  in  view," 
said  I,  "and  I  intend  to  send  him  to  Princeton." 
"Will  you  have  any  difficulty  in  getting  the  means T' 
This  was  a  hard  question,  just  at  that  time.  I 
replied,  "I  don't  know,  sir;  but  I  intend  to  send 
him  to  Princeton,  if  I  have  to  mortgage  some  pro- 
perty I  have,  to  get  the  means."  "Well,  Mr. 
Baker,"  said  he,  in  a  very  kind  way,  "I  will  give 
W.  one  hundred  dollars  this  year,  and  one  hundred 
dollars  the  next;  and  I  am  willing  to  do  something 
for  your  son  D.,  too."  Suffice  it  to  say,  before  I  left 
his  house,  he  placed  a  one  hundred  dollar  note  in  my 
hand.  This  providence,  so  remarkable,  touched  my 
heart.  I  was  eager  to  get  home,  to  tell  my  son  how 
good  the  Lord  had  been  to  us.  I  reached  home  at 
night.  The  next  morning  I  placed  the  note  under 
W's  plate;  and  when  he  saw  it,  to  make  a  good  and 
lasting  impression  upon  him,  I  said  to  him,  "My 
son,  remember  this  saying  of  your  father,  which  I 
have  borrowed,  'They  that  notice  kind  providences 
shall  have  kind  providences  to  notice.'  " 

During  almost  the  whole  of  Dr.  Baker's  residence 
in  Holly  Springs,  two  of  his  sons  were  at  Princeton, 
prosecuting  their  studies  for  the  ministry.  He  had 
never  made  an  effort,  or  even  cherished  a  desire  to 
accumulate  money,  so  that  it  seemed  absolutely  im- 
possible for  him  to  give  his  sons  a  collegiate  educa- 


300  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

tion.  But  when  they  had  professed  religion,  and 
expressed  a  desire  to  enter  the  ministry,  the  thing 
assimied  altogether  a  new  light  in  his  eyes.  "  You 
are  already  educated  enough  for  the  service  of  the 
world,"  said  he  to  one  of  his  sons,  when  that  son  had 
united  with  the  church ;  "  but  now  that  you  have 
become  the  child  of  God,  I  will  educate  you  thor- 
oughly for  his  service,  if  I  have  to  live  on  a  crust  of 
bread."  The  sacredness  of  domestic  life  must  not 
be  violated;  but  if  the  veil  were  lifted,  it  would 
reveal  sacrifices  and  struggles,  to  accomplish  the  pre- 
paration of  his  sons  for  the  service  of  the  Master  he 
loved  so  well,  continued  through  many  long  years. 

The  following  letters,  addressed  chiefly  to  his  sons 
at  College  and  Seminary,  need  no  introduction. 

"KifoxviLLK,  Tenii.,  3fay  3d,  1843. 

"  My  dear  Son — I  reached  this  place  a  few  days 
since,  and  am  to  labour  as  a  missionary  in  this  re- 
gion for  some  two  or  three  months.  May  the  Lord 
grant  his  blessing.  Remember,  my  dear  son,  you 
must  take  exercise,  and  do  it  regularly ;  and  it  must 
be  of  the  right  kind.  When  I  was  at  College,  I  was 
very  studious ;  and  not  bearing  the  idea  of  losing  any 
time,  my  plan  was  to  unite  study  and  exercise.  My 
custom  or  practice  was,  for  some  time,  to  walk  three 
miles  every  day ;  that  is,  a  mile  morning,  noon,  and 
evening.  My  walks  were  solitary,  and  I  employed 
the  time  generally  in  committing  to  memory  some 
lesson  or  speech,  or  something  of  the  kind.  The 
result  was,  I  would  frequently  return  to  my  room  in 
a  state  of  great  exhaustion,  such  exercise  being  to 
me  rather  an  injury  than  a  benefit.     For  exercise  to 


REy»    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  301 

be  profitable,  the  mind  must  be  recreated  as  well  as 
the  body.  Ball-playing  and  gymnastic  exercises  are 
the  very  thing.  I  hope,  my  dear  son,  that  you  will 
not  neglect  your  health.  See  to  it,  that  soul  and 
body  both  enjoy  daily  and  vigorous  health.  I  think 
it  would  be  well  for  your  reading  and  writing,  as  a 
general  thing,  to  have  some  bearing  upon  the  grand 
object  of  pursuit  which  you  have  in  view.  You 
recollect  the  language  of  Paul  to  Timothy :  '  Study  to 
show  thyself  approved  unto  God,  a  workman  that 
needeth  not  to  be  ashamed.'  You  may  think  this 
counsel  not  quite  so  appropriate  just  now;  but  the 
suggestion,  even  at  this  period,  I  think  can  do  no 
harm.  You  must  not  expect  either  frequent  or  long 
letters  from  me  for  some  months  to  come;  you  know 
your  father's  manner  of  doing  things  when  out  on  a 
preaching  tour — preaching  incessantly.  I  find  little 
time  to  write  to  any  one :  and,  besides,  I  have  rarely 
any  conveniences  for  writing.  Another  thing,  my 
hand  becomes  unsteady  by  reason  of  much  speaking. 
Yesterday  I  preached  three  times,  and  this  morning 
— only  see  my  scrawl !  Last  night  I  had  a  crowded 
house,  galleries  and  all.  I  hope  the  Lord  has  some- 
thing for  me  to  do  in  this  place,  and  the  region 
round  about. 

"Be  sure  to  write  to  me  soon,  at  this  place,  and 
communicate  every  thing  which  you  may  deem  inte- 
resting. Tell  me  all  your  wants,  and  be  free  in 
writing  on  any  and  every  subject.  You  know,  my 
son,  that  your  father  loves  you  very  tenderly;  and 
nothing  interesting  to  you  can  be  uninteresting  to 
him.  While  I  think  of  it,  I  must  tell  you,  that  on 
Friday  last  I  heard  of  another  young  man,  a  Mr.  M., 
2^ 


302  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

who  had  been  converted  some  years  ago  under  my 
ministry,  becoming  a  herald  of  the  cross.  He  was 
once  very  far  from  religion,  but  grace  proved  tri- 
umphant. To  God  be  all  the  glory!  Such  intelli- 
gence is  very  pleasing  to  me,  and,  thank  the  Lord, 
I  have  it  every  now  and  then.  I  have  reason  to 
believe  that  some  thirty  or  thirty-five  of  my  spiritual 
children  have  already  entered  the  ministry.  Bless 
the  Lord,  O  my  soul! 

"  Your  ever  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker.'' 

(to  his  wife.) 

"Knoxville,  May  I8th,  1843. 

"  My  dear  Eliza — Upon  my  return  from  Baker's 
Creek,  twenty-six  miles  distant,  I  received  your  into-, 
resting  and  very  welcome  letter  of  the  8th  inst.,  and 
am  happy  to  learn  that  you  are  all  coming  on  so 
pleasantly,  and  the  garden  too.  I  confess  I  feel  very 
much  as  if  I  were  in  a  state  of  exile,  and  shall  be  not 
a  little  pleased  at  the  time  appointed  to  return  to 
my  family  and  my  charge.  It  certainly  was  a  great 
undertaking  to  come  so  far,  and  be  absent  so  long ; 
and  I  am  free  to  say,  that  I  am  strongly  inclined  to 
think  it  will  be  the  last  time  I  shall  enter  upon  a 
tour  of  such  a  kind.  I  know  not  which  makes  me 
feel  worse,  to  be  absent  from  my  family  or  my  charge. 
Every  now  and  then  I  feel  rather  unpleasantly  upon 
the  subject;  but  I  quiet  myself  by  considering  that 
my  present  enterprise  was  entered  upon  after  prayer 
and  reflection;  and,  moreover,  that  certain  circum- 
stances seemed  to  render  it  almost  necessary.  I 
think,  however,  it  is  the  last  tour  of  the  kind  I  will 


REV.   DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  303 

ever  take.  Things  in  this  region  of  country  are  in  a 
sad  state;  I  mean  in  relation  to  church  matters. 

"  I  have  reason  to  believe  my  visit  to  East  Ten- 
nessee will  be  useful,  not  only,  as  I  trust,  in  bring- 
ing sinners  to  Christ,  but  in  calming  down  feelings, 
and  in  giving  encouragement  to  Old-school  Presby- 
terians, who  are  here  in  the  minority.  Old-school 
ministers  are  very  scarce,  and  the  coming  of  one  into 
their  midst  is  like  a  pleasant  breeze  in  a  hot  day,  or 
a  little  shower  of  rain  in  a  time  of  drought.  In  this 
respect,  I  think  my  tour  will  prove  an  important 
one ;  but  I  hope  it  will  prove  a  blessing  in  all  other 
respects  also.  *  *  *  The  meeting  was  interesting. 
Some  were  brought  under  deep  conviction,  and  one 
or  two  perhaps  converted;  but  the  chief  good  in  all 
probability  consisted  in  the  church  being  brought 
into  a  better  state. 

"  The  meeting  at  Baker's  Creek,  from  which  I  have 
just  returned,  was  a  blessed  one.  Great  feeling  was 
manifested,  and  I  believe,  much  good  done.  On  the 
last  day  of  the  meeting,  (Tuesday,)  when  the  anxious 
were  called  for,  there  was  quite  a  rush,  and  all  the 
adult  non-professors  of  religion  in  the  house,  except 
some  two  or  three,  came  forward  to  be  prayed  for. 
Six  professed  conversion,  but  I  think  the  number 
must  be  greater  than  that.  Amongst  those  v/ho 
professed  was  a  Mr.  M.,  whose  wife  is  a  sister  of 
General  Houston,  of  Texas.  Yesterday  I  passed 
through  Maryville,  the  nest  of  Hopkinsianism.  I 
saw  Dr.  A. ;  he  invited  me  to  come  and  see  him,  and 
spend  a  night  at  his  house,  and  even  invited  me 
to  preach  for  him.  Amongst  other  things,  he  has 
abolished  the  use  of  wine  at  the  sacrament,  and  uses 


304  LIFE  AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

raisin  water.  O,  the  poor  Church  of  Christ !  how  it 
has  been  troubled  by  some  of  its  professed  friends! 
I  think  heaven  must  be  a  very  sweet  place ;  for  there 
are  no  troubles  there. 

"I  think  about  you  all,  my  dear  E.,  very  fre- 
quently, and  right  glad  shall  I  be  when  the  time 
comes  to  set  my  face  towards  Holly  Springs.  I 
wish  to  see  myself  in  my  own  house,  in  the 
bosom  of  my  own  family  once  more;  and  I  also 
wish  to  be  in  my  own  pidpit,  and  amongst  the 
people  whom  I  love,  once  more;  but  I  must  not  be 
impatient,  for  I  have  a  work  to  do  in  this  region; 
and  having  put  my  hand  to  the  plough,  I  must  not 
look  back  until  my  work  is  done.  The  people  in 
these  parts  take  great  interest  in  preaching,  and 
come  to  hear  me  in  crowds,  although  the  season 
is  not  favourable;  the  evenings  too  short  for  meet- 
ings in  town,  and  in  the  country  this  is  a  very  busy 
time  with  farmers.  I  have  preached  several  times 
in  Knoxville,  and  a  considerable  impression  has 
been  made.  This  evening  we  are  to  commence  a 
protracted  meeting.  The  weather,  however,  is  very 
unfavourable ;  it  is  raining  now,  and  there  is  a  pros- 
pect of  a  long  spell  of  wet  weather.  The  clouds, 
however,  are  in  good  hands,  and  you  know  my  rule 
is.  Be  careful  for  nothing.     Love  to  all. 

"  In  great  haste,  your  affectionate  husband, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  a  son  in  holly  springs.) 

"Knoxville,  July  7th,  1843. 

"My  dear   Son — If  you  wiU  take   the   map   of 
Tennessee,  and  look  at  the  north-east  corner,  you 


EEY.    DANIEL  BAKER,   D.  D.  305 

will  see  Leesburg.  This  has  been  my  '  Ultima 
Thidef  and  it  is  remarkable  that  the  most  remote 
house  I  visited,  the  one  farthest  from  home,  was  the 
house  of  the  postmaster,  a  son  of  whom  professed 
conversion;  and  the  father  himself  was  powerfully 
wrought  upon,  and  I  hope,  by  this  time,  may  be 
rejoicing  in  Christ.  It  seems  as  if  the  Master  had 
said  to  the  servant — Go  as  far  as  that  house ;  give 
the  inmates  of  that  house  a  call  to  repent,  and  then 
you  may  return.  My  labours  have  been  very  con- 
siderably blessed,  and  it  has  pleased  the  Lord  to 
give  me  some  stars  in  every  place.  The  converts 
in  all  may  be  something  like  ninety  or  a  hundred. 

"My  dear  son,  remember  you  too  have  a  soul  to 
be  saved.  It  is  a  jewel  of  price  unknown.  It  is  too 
precious  to  be  lost.  Let  me  advise  you  to  take  good 
care  of  it.  When  you  shall  have  entered  the  ark, 
then  will  your  dear  parents  have  the  sweet  hope  of 
finally  meeting  every  child  of  theirs  in  heaven.  O 
how  delightful  this  would  be ! 

"At  the  very  earnest  request  of  brother  McMul- 
len,  his  elders,  deacons,  and  the  young  converts,  I 
am  to  spend  the  next  Sabbath  in  this  place.  The 
Sabbath  after,  I  shall  probably  be  in  Kingston,  the 
Sabbath  after  that  at  Columbia,  and  after  that  I  shall 
hurry  home  with  all  practical  dispatch.  I  hope  to 
reach  home  by  the  first  or  second  Sabbath  in  August, 
I  presume  not  sooner.  I  suspect  I  wish  to  be  at 
home  as  much  as  any  of  my  congregation  can  possi- 
bly desire;  but  you  know  my  disposition;  when  I 
undertake  a  thing  I  like  to  go  the  whole  amount. 
I  do  say  the  undertaking  was  a  great  one;  but  I 
think  I  shall  not  enter  upon  such  another  shortly. 
26* 


306  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

Home,  sweet  home,  will  henceforth  have  more  attrac- 
tions for  me  than  ever. 

"  Your  far  distant  but  ever  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  a  son  in  PRINCETON.) 

"Holly  Springs,  August  9th,  1843. 

"My  dear  Son — Last  Friday  evening  I  reached 
home,  after  a  very  laborious  tour  of  missionary 
labour  of  nearly  four  months.  My  preaching  when 
in  the  field  was  at  the  rate  of  something  like  seventy 
sermons  per  month.  We  had  many  interesting 
meetings  and  some  hopeful  converts  in  nearly  every 
place ;  but  circumstances  were  in  some  respects  very 
unfavourable.  In  consequence  of  the  backwardness 
of  the  spring,  planters  were  very  busy;  and  in  con- 
sequence of  the  season  of  the  year,  the  evenings 
were,  of  course,  very  short.  The  Lord,  however,  was 
pleased  to  bless  your  father's  labours  to  the  hopeful 
conversion  of  about  ninety  or  one  hundred  precious 
souls;  amongst  them  were  about  fifteen  young  men 
engaged  in  classical  studies ;  some  of  whom,  I  trust, 
will  devote  themselves  to  the  sacred  office.  And 
here  I  may  remark,  that  when  I  was  preaching  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Washington  College,  I  was 
urged  to  accept  of  the  Presidency  of  that  institution, 
(the  edifice  is  a  very  good  one,  and  the  students 
numbered  sixty-eight,)  but  I  declined.  I  do  not  feel 
myself  qualified  for  an  office  of  that  kind ;  and  more- 
over, I  think  I  can  be  more  useful  as  a  preacher. 

"  I  think  your  cousin  John  has  not  made  any  pro- 
fession of  religion.  Endeavour,  my  son,  to  do  what 
you  can  to  win  him  to  Christ.     Wherever  you  are, 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  307 

always  be  aiming  at  doing  some  good.  Be  willing 
to  do  good  on  a  small  scale,  on  a  large  scale,  on  any 
scale;  and  wherever  you  may  be,  and  however  em- 
ployed, never  neglect  the  devotions  of  the  closet. 
I  wish  you,  my  dear  son,  to  have  a  high  standard  of 
piety  and  usefulness.  I  wish  you  would  read  Bax- 
ter's Saints'  Rest.  I  have  been  reading  it,  I  may 
say,  with  unabated  interest  for  thirty  years,  and  I 
think  it  has  done  me  much  good. 
"Your  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  his  sons  in  PRINCETON.) 

"HoLLT  Springs,  Jione  Ist,  18M. 

"My  dear  Sons — Your  joint  letter,  bearing  seve- 
ral dates,  the  last  being  9th  May,  came  to  hand  only 
a  few  days  since,  and  was  particularly  welcome,  as 
we  had  not  received  one  for  a  long  time.  You  both 
enjoy  good  health — what  a  blessing;  and  every  thing 
seems  to  smile  upon  you — how  thankful  should  you 
be ;  and  we,  your  parents  too ;  for  whatever  affects 
your  happiness,  of  course  affects  ours.  When  you 
rejoice,  we  rejoice  also;  and  when  you  weep,  we  also 
are  disposed  to  weep.  At  this  time  I  think  we  may 
all  say,  'The  lines  have  fallen  to  us  in  pleasant 
places,  and  we  have  a  goodly  heritage.'  And  O, 
may  each  have  a  heart  to  respond,  'Bless  the  Lord, 
O  my  soul,  and  all  that  is  within  me  bless  liis  holy 
name.'  *  *  *  of  course,  however,  you  will  not 
understand  me  to  be  very  favourable  to  'the  credit 
system.'  The  'cash  system'  is  now,  and  has  for 
several  months  past,  been  your  father's  system  at 
home;  and  I  hope,  in  all  ordinary  cases,  it  will  be 


308  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

acted  upon  by  my  sons,  not  only  while  at  College, 
but  through  all  subsequent  life. 

"Are  you  the  author  of  the  'Frarfmeii  Comedice 
nonditm  perfectce  ?'  If  so,  let  me  tell  you  I  tliink  its 
latinity  is  better  than  its  Christianity.  I  do  wish  it 
were  possible  to  banish  all  Pagan  Classics  out  of  our 
schools  and  colleges,  and  instead  of  Caesar,  Ovid, 
Horace,  Homer,  «&:c.,  substitute  Latin  and  Greek 
writers  of  a  Christian  stamp.  Heathen  mythology, 
and  the  system  of  divine  truth  we  have  in  the  Bible, 
are  as  widely  different  as  winter  and  spring;  or 
rather  as  night  and  day.  But  while  I  am  upon  the 
subject,  if  you  or  your  brother  should  have  any  of 
your  pieces  published  in  your  periodical,  let  us  know 
your  signature,  and  then  you  need  have  no  pencil 
marks,  which  may  be  considered  rather  a  violation  of 
the  Post-Office  law.  I  wish  you,  my  sons,  to  be 
conscientious  in  small  as  well  as  in  great  matters; 
conscientious  at  all  times  and  in  all  things — for  the 
Bible  says,  '  He  that  is  faithful  in  that  which  is  least, 
is  faithful  also  in  much;  and  he  that  is  unjust  in  the 
least,  is  unjust  also  in  much.'  Let  nothing  interfere 
with  your  religious  duties  and  religious  enjoyments. 

"  Our  garden,  under  the  auspices  of  your  brother, 
is  still  flourishing.  We  have  two  little  watermelons 
formed  upon  the  vines;  one  cucumber.  Our  crop  of 
cherries  amounted  to  just  exactly  two.  Two  what] 
— two  bushels'? — two  pecks'? — two  quarts'?  No;  two 
cherries!  But  you  are  not  to  think  this  a  specimen 
of  our  garden.  O  no;  for  we  have  had  peas,  and 
radishes,  and  strawberries,  and  raspberries,  &c.  in 
suflicient  abundance.  Moreover,  we  have  two  bee- 
hives ;  and  at  tliis  time  the  bees  are  very  industrious, 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  309 

gathering  honey  for  their  master  and  mistress.  In- 
dustrious creatures! — is  it  right  to  rob  them'?  But  I 
suppose  they  were  made  for  the  use  of  man.  Our 
Saviour  took  a  piece  of  a  broiled  fish,  and  of  a 
honey-comb,  and  did  eat.  Let  every  thing  have  a 
Bible  warrant. 

"Your  mother,  sister,  and  brother,  unite  in  cordial 
love.     The  Lord  bless  you  both,  my  dear  sons,  and 
make  each  of  you  a  burning  and  a  shining  light 
"Your  ever  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to   a    son    at   PRINCETON.) 

"Holly  Springs,  IQth  December,  1843. 

"My  dear  Son — ^Your  very  welcome  but  long 
looked- for  letters  have  been  received — I  cannot,  how- 
ever, add,  in  due  course  of  mail,  for  your  letter  from 
Philadelphia  was  about  twenty  days  on  the  road; 
and  yours  from  Princeton,  dated  the  20th  and  27th 
of  November,  was  not  received  until  last  night.  I 
assure  you,  in  both  cases,  our  patience  was  tried 
very  severely.  Mail  night  after  mail  night  your  bro- 
ther H.  would  return  empty-handed  from  the  office. 
'Any  letters,  H.]'  'No  letters;  but  here  are  two 
Expresses  and  one  Preshijteriaji.''  '  Theodora,'  says  I, 
'just  look  at  your  mother! — see  what  a  long  face  she 
has  got!'  'Well,'  says  she,  'I  believe  it  is  not  worth 
while  to  look  for  a  letter  any  more.'  '  O,  yes,'  your 
father  would  say — who,  you  know,  always  looks 
upon  the  bright  side — 'O,  yes;  we'll  be  sure  to  get  a 
letter  the  next  time.'  The  next  time  comes,  but  still 
no  letter !     What  can  be  the  matter  ]     '  Why,'  says 


310  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

T,  '  they  are  so  busy,  I  suppose,  at  the  commencement 
of  the  session,  they  cannot  find  time  to  write.'  'And, 
pa,'  says  your  sister,  'you  know  the  mails,  of  late, 
are  very  irregular.'  Amid  this  chit-chat  and  family 
scene,  the  old  lady  in  the  rocking-chair  in  the  corner, 
with  a  sad  and  woe-begone  look,  would  not  say 
much,  but  she  would  think  the  more.  She  would 
not  tell  us  how  many  dismal  images  were  before  her 
mind  about  the  broken  bones  of  one  darling  son,  and 
the  sick-bed  of  another,  lest  we  should  laugh  at  her; 
but  we  could  plainly  see  that  the  over-anxiety  of  a 
mother's  love  had  set  her  imagination  to  roving,  not 
in  flowery  fields,  but  in  some  ugly  places.  Last 
night,  however,  for  the  second  time,  a  long  chapter 
of  disappointments  came  to  an  end.  H.  came  in, 
and  threw  down  a  letter  upon  my  table,  post-marked 
Princeton ;  and  then  came  the  contention  who  should 
read  it.  I  began,  but  as  your  father's  eyes  are  not 
the  best  in  the  world  at  night,  and  he  would  make 
mistakes,  the  letter  was  handed  to  your  sister,  who 
read  it  very  fluently;  but,  according  to  an  ugly 
fashion  of  hers,  she  would  be  stopping  every  few 
lines  to  make  some  remark — 'O,  T.,'  her  impatient 
mother  would  say,  '  read  on,'  See. 
"Your  aftbctionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to   a    son   at    PRINCETON.) 

"Holly  Springs,  May  bth,  1845. 

"My  dear  W. — Yesterday  I  administered  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  at  Hudsonville,  and 
although  the  day  was  very  rainy,  we  had  a  crowded 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  311 

house,  and  I  hope  some  good  was  done.  O,  my  son, 
our  blessed  E-edeemer  has  done  great  things  for  us, 
and  we  must  never  cease  to  remember  his  dying 
love.  Let  him  ever  occupy  the  throne  of  our  hearts. 
I  hope  your  meditations  of  him  are  frequently  very 
sweet.  How  often  do  you  and  your  brother  take  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper]  I  hope  you  find 
communion  seasons  to  be  precious  seasons.  May 
God  bless  you,  my  dear  son,  and  make  you  not  only 
truly  pious,  but  deeply  pious.  Aim  at  high  attain- 
ments in  the  divine  life. 

"When  I  was  in  Princeton  I  enjoyed  religion 
much,  and  I  think  I  was  made  an  instrument  in  the 
hand  of  God  in  doing  some  good  in  College.  Indeed 
I  think,  without  boasting,  I  can  say  that  the  glorious 
revival  which  took  place  in  College  when  I  was  in 
my  senior  year,  was  owing  in  some  degree  to  my 
instrumentality.  I  proposed  the  prayer-meeting, 
which  was  held  weekly  for  nearly  six  months,  to 
pray  expressly  for  an  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  on  the 
College.  For  some  time  before  the  revival  com- 
menced, I  was  in  the  habit  of  having  special  con- 
versations with  certain  students  on  the  subject  of 
religion ;  and  on  the  day  of  the  national  fast,  I  pro- 
posed to  my  room-mate  that  we  should  go  from  room 
to  room,  and  endeavour  to  'break  the  bands  of 
wickedness.'  After  some  demurring  he  complied, 
and  we  spent  much  of  the  day  in  conversing  with 
our  fellow-students  on  the  subject  of  religion,  making 
our  address  direct  and  pointed.  Six  or  eight  of  the 
students  were  awakened  that  very  day,  and  this  was 
the  commencement  of  the  revival  in  which  some  fifty 
students  were  hopefully  converted.     I  kept  a  diary 


312  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

at  the  time ;  I  regret  that  I  have  lost  it,  as  it  con- 
tained a  record  of  many  things  which  might  have 
been  both  interesting  and  useful  to  yourself  and 
brother. 

"I  hope  you  will  understand  my  motive  in  men- 
tioning what  I  have  done — not  to  speak  my  own 
praise,  for  I  well  know  that  I  have  been  sadly  defi- 
cient in  duty,  but  to  encourage  you  and  your  brother 
to  begin  the  blessed  work  of  winning  souls  to  Christ 
whilst  you  are  yet  in  College.  And  here  let  me 
request  you  both  to  commit  to  memory  this  passage, 
found  in  the  book  of  Daniel:  'They  that  be  wise 
shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament,  and 
they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness,  as  the  stars  for 
ever  and  ever.'  E-ead  Baxter's  Saint's  Rest,  and  the 
lives  of  Payson  and  James  Brainerd  Taylor.  You 
have  done  it  already,  you  say — suppose  you  do  it 
again.  I  think  I  recommended  Smith's  Lectures  on 
the  Sacred  Office.  Have  you  yet  read  the  book]  If 
so,  how  do  you  like  if? 

"  Our  garden  is  very  flourishing ;  the  strawberries 
are  ripe,  and  as  many  perhaps  as  three  quarts  could 
this  morning  be  gathered  from  the  vines.  If  you  and 
your  brother  were  here,  you  should  have  strawberries 
and  milk — yes,  and  cream  and  sugar  too — that  you 
should.  Cherries  are  just  turning;  our  raspberries 
will  be  abundant.  Your  mother  this  morning  came 
out  of  the  garden,  and  standing  at  the  window  of  my 
study,  showed  me  some  which  she  had  gathered, 
being  the  first  that  had  ripened.  Some  of  our  plum- 
trees  are  loaded,  the  plums  being  about  as  large  as 
your  thumb,  but  still  green.  I  have  corn  up  about 
a  foot  high,  and  it  looks  better  than  I  have  yet  seen 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  313 

any  where.     As  for  English  peas,  we  have  had  them 
on  our  table  for  some  time  past. 

"  Affectionately,  your  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  the  same.) 

Holly  Springs,  July  22d,  1845. 

"My  dear  Son — Did  you  know  you  are  in  cir- 
cumstances of  temptation]  Selected  as  a  speaker  to 
represent  your  Society,  and  chosen  as  one  of  the 

editors  of  the ,  you  have  reason  to  be  on  your 

guard,  lest  these  honours  and  distinctions  draw  off 
your  mind  from  that  which  is  more  important. 
Whilst  I  wish  you  to  excel  in  whatsoever  things  are 
lovely  and  of  good  report  among  men  on  earth,  I 
wish  you  also  in  all  things  to  have  a  wise  reference 
to  a  dying  hour  and  a  judgment-day.  Be  sure  you 
never  omit  the  devotions  of  the  closet,  nor  suffer 
yourself  to  pass  them  over  in  a  formal  and  hurried 
manner.  See  to  it,  my  son,  that  you  enjoy  religion, 
and  enjoy  it  every  day.  On  the  very  ground  where 
you  now  are,  your  father  had  much  religious  enjoy- 
ment nearly  thirty  years  ago;  and  you  know  how  it 
was  with  James  Brainerd  Taylor  since  that  time. 
O,  that  you  and  your  brother  might  both  catch  the 
spirit  of  him  who  has  already  (fully  ripe  for  heaven) 
entered  into  his  rest. 

"Speaking  of  entering  into  rest,  I  am  reminded 
of  the  case  of  Mrs.  C,  one  of  the  converts  in  our 
revival  in  Holly  Springs,  when  you  were  brought  in. 
She,  you  may  recollect,  joined  the  Episcopal  church. 
During  her  illness,  which  lasted  several  weeks,  I 
called  upon  her  some  eight  or  ten  times.  She  was 
27 


314  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

sometimes  calm  and  pleasant  in  her  feelings,  but  she 
had  not  those  clear  ■\dcws  of  Christ  which  she  had  at 
the  commencement  of  her  religious  career.  She 
confessed  that  she  had  not  kept  up  a  close  walk  with 
God,  as  she  ought  to  have  done.  She  had  lived  too 
much  in  the  spirit  of  the  world;  and  sometimes  she 
was  fearful  that  she  had  mistaken  the  matter,  and 
really  had  no  religion.  I  myself  had  but  little  doubt 
of  her  piety;  I  believed  her  to  be  a  Christian  under 
a  cloud.  She  was  not  exactly  wilHng  to  die,  because 
her  evidences  were  not  as  clear  as  she  desired. 
During  my  last  visit,  I  prayed  that  aU  clouds  might 
be  scattered,  and  that  she  might  have  clear  views  of 
her  Saviour.  Upon  my  return  from  a  camp-meeting 
which  I  attended  a  few  days  after,  I  saw  a  new- 
made  grave.  'Whose  grave  is  tliisf  I  was  told  it 
was  Mrs.  C's.  'How  did  she  &ieV  '  O,  quite  happy 
• — in  the  full  hope  of  heaven.'  It  seems,  that  not 
long  before  she  breathed  her  last  her  countenance 
brightened;  she  looked  up  with  joy,  and  exclaimed, 
'The  long  expected  One  is  come  at  last!  Blessed 
Jesus,  I  am  willing  to  go  now !'  O,  my  son,  never 
lose  sight  of  death.  '  I  die  daily,'  says  Paul.  ,  There 
is  an  habitual,  and  there  is  also  an  actual  preparation 
for  death.  We  should  always  bear  in  mind  not  only 
that  we  must  die,  but  that  we  may  die  soon,  may  die 
unexpectedly.  O,  to  be  always  ready,  that  whether 
death  come  in  the  morning,  or  in  the  evening,  or  at 
the  midnight  hour,  we  may  be  found  as  servants 
waiting  the  coming  of  tlieir  Lord. 

"Would  you  believe  it,  last  Saturday  I  received 
another  letter  from  St.  Charles,  renewing  the  invi- 
tation for  me   to  come.     I  wonder  if  some  young 


REY.  DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  315 

man  from  the  Seminary  could  not  go  there  1  We 
want  more  ministers  of  our  persuasion — that  we  do ; 
we  want  them  here;  we  want  them  there;  we  want 
them  in  Texas;  we  want  them  in  China;  we  want 
them  everywhere.  Only  think,  the  Emperor  of 
China  giving  encouragement  to  the  introduction  of 
the  Christian  religion  into  his  dominions !  What  a 
magnificent  field  for  missionary  operations!  The 
Sandwich  Islands  affair  upon  a  large  scale.  Surely, 
the  millennium  must  be  near  at  hand. 

"Your  account  of  the  Commencement,  and  the 
day  which  preceded  it,  was  very  interesting  to  us 
all.  When  you  marched  up  in  your  silk  gown,  and 
took  "your  seat  upon  the  stage  with  your  associates, 
amid  music  and  the  applause  of  your  fellow-students, 
I  suppose  you  had  quite  a  new  set  of  feelings.  In 
writing  home,  do  not  be  afraid  of  mentioning  small 
matters.  Every  thing  which  relates  to  yourself  and 
brother,  you  may  be  sure  is  read  with  interest  by  all 
in  your  father's  house.  You  see  how  unstarched  I 
am — writing  about  every  thing,  just  as  things  occur 
to  my  mind.  I  write  extemporaneous  letters,  and 
such  I  Hke  to  receive.  I  hope  you  and  your  brother 
have  had  a  pleasant  vacation,  and  that  in  health  and 
spirits  you  are  prepared  for  the  labours  of  another 
session.  God  bless  you,  my  son.  Love  as  usual. 
"Your  ever  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  the  same.) 

Holly  Springs,  October  Uth,  1845 

"My  dear  Son — In   regard  to  the  matter  upon 
which  your  mother  gave  you  and  your  brother  some 


316  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

sage  advice,  and  which,  it  seems,  occasioned  you 
both  some  little  amusement,  I  would  only  add  a 
remark  or  so.  The  hearts  of  the  young  are  some- 
times very  susceptible,  and  therefore  you  both  would 
do  well  to  be  upon  your  guard.  Do  not  be  in  too 
great  a  hurry;  avoid  'entangling  alliances.'  If  you 
see  one  fancied  to  be  the  loveliest  and  the  best  in  all 
creation,  remember  you  have  not  yet  ranged  over  the 
face  of  all  creation ;  and  there  are  as  good  fish  in  the 
sea  as  any  that  have  ever  been  taken  out  of  it.  A 
word  to  the  wise,  you  know,  is  sufficient ;  and  cer- 
tainly, being  serious,  you  may  be  put  among  the 
wise.  But,  to  be  a  little  plainer  and  more  serious — 
be  prudent;  remember  your  high  calling,  arid  let 
nothing  cripple  your  future  usefuhiess.  Seek  divine 
direction,  and  seek  it  before  your  affections  are  en- 
gaged. Some,  in  early  life,  are  too  hasty  and  incon- 
siderate; therefore  be  prudent  and  discreet.  This  is 
your  father's  advice.  If  it  please  God,  I  hope  each 
of  you  may  be  blessed  with  a  companion  of  the  right 
stamp;  but  all  in  good  time. 

"Can  you  singl  I  hope  you  can  and  do  sing. 
This  is  a  matter  of  very  considerable  importance  for 
one  who  has  the  ministry  in  view.  I  wish  you  to 
cultivate  your  musical  talent,  if  you  have  any;  this 
will  contribute  much  to  your  usefulness  when  you  go 
out  as  a  herald  of  the  cross.  As  flowers  in  a  garden, 
so  is  music  in  the  ministerial  life. 

"  You  wish  to  know  my  sentiments  on  the  subject 
of  Papal  baptism.  I  side  with  the  General  Assembly 
fully  and  strongly.  When  I  read  the  article  in  the 
Princeton  Review,  I  confess  I  tliought  it  very  inge- 
nious and  very  able;  nay,  more,  I  confess  it  staggered 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  317 

me.  Although  I  believed  the  position  taken  to  be 
false,  yet  for  some  time  I  knew  not  exactly  how  to 
meet  the  arguments;  but  upon  examination,  I  think 
I  can  detect  some  fallacies  now,  and  others  I  think  I 
shall  yet  detect.  It  is  urged  that  Papists  use  water — 
the  element  divinely  appointed.  Yes;  but  do  they 
not  add  other  things'?  Peter  said.  Who  can  forbid 
water  1 — but  the  Papists  say.  Who  can  forbid  water, 
and  salt,  and  oil,  and  spittle  1  Now,  if  thirsty,  you 
ask  for  water,  and  I  give  you  this  compound  affair, 
would  you  not  reject  it  I  Here  is  a  cup  of  coffee ;  I 
hand  it  to  you,  and  take  not  a  particle  of  it  away, 
but  only  add  a  little  arsenic — would  not  the  element 
be  materially,  essentially  changed'?  It  is  affirmed 
that  Papists  hold  all  essential  truth,  such  as  the 
supreme  divinity  of  Christ,  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  the  atonement.  Sec.  Be  it  so;  but  what  is 
admitted  in  one  place,  is  virtually  denied  in  another. 
They  say  that  Christ  is  God,  and  the  next  moment 
show  me  a  wafer,  and  tell  me  that  is  Christ !  They 
admit  the  atonement  of  Christ,  and  yet  talk  about 
the  merits  of  saints,  and  works  of  supererogation. 
How  preposterous!  But  I  have  neither  time  nor 
space  to  argue  the  matter.  Let  me  give  you  a  short- 
metre  view.  We  Protestants  contend  that  the 
Church  of  Home  is  the  'Mother  of  Harlots.'  Now, 
I  opine  that  no  harlot  has  the  right  to  administer 
baptism ;  least  of  all,  the  mother  of  harlots. 
"Your  own  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 


2V 


318  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF   THE 

(to  the  same.) 

"Holly  Sphings,  Sept.  3d,  1847. 

"My  very  dear  Son — ^Your  last  letter  to  me 
came  to  hand  this  morning,  and  I  am  free  to  say,  it 
has  given  me  more  pleasure  than  any  you  ever 
wrote.  The  statement  made  in  relation  to  your 
religious  experience  and  increasing  desire  for  the 
gospel  ministry,  was  particularly  gratifying  to  me; 
for  I  wish  above  all  things  that  you  may  ever  have 
spiritual  health,  and  that  your  standard  of  personal 
piety  may  be  much  higher  than,  I  fear,  is  too  com- 
mon. Your  usefulness  and  happiness  in  life  will 
both  depend,  in  a  great  measure,  upon  the  warmth 
of  your  zeal  and  the  devotion  of  your  heart  to  the 
cause  of  your  Redeemer;  and  I  pray  God  that  the 
sweet  love  of  Christ  may  always  be  richly  shed 
abroad  in  your  soul.  God  grant,  my  dear  son,  that 
you  may  (avoiding  what  in  me  is  evil)  go  very,  very 
far  beyond  me  in  whatever  is  good  and  right.  This 
I  will  say,  my  ardour  of  soul  and  determination  of 
purpose  have,  I  do  believe,  increased  my  usefulness 
greatly;  and  these  things  also  have  added  much  to 
my  personal  happiness.  It  is  good  to  be  zealously 
affected  always  in  a  good  thing.  My  son,  do  remem- 
ber this,  and  remember  one  of  your  father's  old 
sayings:  'We  should  be  willing  to  do  good  on  a 
large  scale,  on  a  small  scale,  on  any  scale.'  And  be 
sure  every  morning  to  have  that  disposition  which 
might  prompt  you  to  say,  '  Divine  Master,  hast  thou 
any  work  for  me  to  do  to-day  1'  I  hope,  my  son, 
that  you  will  cause  your  influence  to  be  happily  felt 
in  the  Seminary,  and  wherever  you  may  be ;  and  I 


KEY.   DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  319 

hope  you  will  begin  early  to  'cast  about'  how  you 
may  most  usefully  employ  your  next  vacation.  Do 
not  consult  your  personal  ease  or  private  inclina- 
tions, but  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  souls. 
God  grant  that  you  may  have  a  bright  crown  when 
you  enter  heaven,  and  there  bathe  in  a  full  tide  of 
glory,  as  in  the  full,  broad  sunlight  of  heaven. 

"Last  Friday  evening  I  returned  from  a  mis- 
sionary tour  in  the  '  Western  District,'  which  lasted 
five  weeks.  It  was  laborious,  but  delightful.  Be- 
sides numerous  exhortations  and  many  'some  more 
last  remarks,'  I  preached  fifty-nine  long  sermons. 
The  result  was,  that  in  addition  to  the  reviving  of 
many  of  God's  people,  about  sixty  persons  were 
hopefully  converted;  and  perhaps  twice  sixty  were 
brought  under  awakening  influences.  Bless  the 
Lord!  I  received  very  pressing  invitations  to  preach 
in  several  places  where  I  could  not,  and  smiles  and 
kindness  were  showered  down  upon  me  wherever  I 
went.  To  crown  the  matter,  on  a  certain  day,  one 
gentleman,  a  convert,  brought  forward  a  child  to  be 
baptized,  and  named  him  Daniel  Baker!  When  the 
name  was  uttered  by  the  pastor,  it  took  me  entirely 
by  surprise.  So  I  have  now  two  little  namesakes  in 
that  region  of  country.  May  they  put  tenfold  more 
honour  upon  the  name  than  I  have  done.  And  then 
the  satisfaction  of  thinking  that  I  have,  in  the  hands 
of  God,  been  made  instrumental,  as  I  hope,  in  the 
sound  conversion  of  some  sixty  precious  souls,  or 
more  !  I  tell  you,  my  son,  if  the  minister  of  Christ 
has  to  pass  through  a  wilderness,  there  are  are  some 
green   spots  in  that  wilderness;    if  his  pathway  is 


320  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

sometimes  rough  and  thorny,  it  is  also  sometimes 
smooth  and  strewed  ^vith  flowers.  Lights  and 
shadows,  joy  and  sorrow,  hope  and  fear,  these  things 
fill  up  his  days  on  earth;  and  then,  all  light  and  no 
shadows,  all  joy  and  no  sorrow,  and  the  full  fruition 
of  hope,  in  a  world  where  fear  finds  no  entrance: 
yea,  glory ;  a  crown  of  glory ;  a  throne  of  glory ;  an 
exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory.  O,  who 
would  not  be  a  Christian,  and  especially  a  Christian 
minister!  My  son,  you  have  made  a  good  choice. 
The  Lord  make  you  a  chosen  vessel.  The  Lord 
make  you  valiant  for  the  truth;  a  good  soldier  of 
Jesus  Christ ;  a  workman  which  needeth  not  to  be 
ashamed. 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  the  same.) 

"HoLLT  SpHiNCfs,  December  Slh,  1847. 

"My  dear  Son— Two  letters  enclosed  in  one 
envelope,  one  from  yourself,  and  the  other  from  your 
brother,  came  to  hand  a  few  days  ago,  and  gave  us  a 
great  treat.  My  son,  I  am  rejoiced  to  learn  that  'the 
ordinances  have  been  richly  blessed'  to  you ;  and  I 
will  tell  you  that  what  you  have  said  in  relation  to 
'  scholasticism'  and  intellectual  piety,  &c.,  has  given 
me  more  pleasure  than  I  can  express.  I  feared  at 
one  time  that  you  had  a  spice  of  '  transcendentalism' 
in  you,  and  that  your  piety  would  be  more  refined 
than  deep;  but  God  has  now  given  you,  I  trust, 
better  views,  and  better  feelings,  and  better  aspira- 
tions. Yes,  my  son,  let  the  blessed  Saviour  be  upon 
the  throne  of  your  heart,  and  for  the  love  of  him 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  321 

be  willing  to  'give  your  reputation  to  the  winds.' 
Have  the  cross  and  great  eternity  continually  before 
you,  and  think  more  of  the  honour  which  cometh 
from  God  than  of  that  which  cometh  from  man  only. 
Whilst  reading  some  two  or  three  of  your  last  letters, 
and  noticing  certain  things  which  you  said,  in  rela- 
tion, to  your  change  of  views  and  feelings,  I  could 
not  refrain  from  weeping  for  joy,  and  exclaiming 
frequently,  as  I  read  on — Bless  the  Lord!  O,  my 
dear  son,  I  wish  you,  and  your  dear  brother  too,  to 
have  a  warm,  heartfelt  piety.  I  wish  the  love  of 
Christ  to  be  the  ruling  passion  of  you  both;  and 
God  grant  that  each  of  you  may  have  the  spirit  of 
an  apostle,  and  the  spirit  of  a  martyr. 

"  A  few  weeks  since,  I  attended  a  protracted  meet- 
ing in  Somerville  which  lasted  eight  days,  during 
which  time  I  preached  something  like  twenty  ser- 
mons. We  had  much  unfavourable  weather,  and  yet 
we  had  a  precious  season.  When  we  were  about  to 
close  the  meeting,  on  Tuesday  evening,  I  received  a 
note  signed  by  forty-one  young  men,  mostly  non- 
professors,  urging  me  to  continue  the  meeting  a  few 
days  longer.  I  complied,  and  preached  on  until 
Thursday  night.  On  Thursday  morning,  the  young 
men  held  a  sunrise  prayer-meeting;  and  although 
the  morning  was  very  cold  and  cloudy,  eighteen  were 
present.  Among  the  converts  were  several  interest- 
ing young  men,  and  one  lady  of  much  gaiety  and 
fashion.  On  returning  from  Somerville,  my  horse 
started,  and  threw  me  upon  the  frozen  ground  with 
great  violence;  but  thanks  to  a  kind  Providence,  I 
was  not  much  hurt.  Two  of  my  doctrinal  sermons 
are  about  to  be  published  in  Memphis.     The  gentle- 


322  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

man  who  started  the  idea  insisted  upon  my  taking 
ten  dollars  for  the  manuscripts. 

"Your  ever  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

"HoLLT  SpRiifos,  March  29th,  1848. 

"  Dear  brother  Galloway — Your  welcome,  most 
welcome  letter,  dated  the  ITth  inst.,  has  been  duly 
received.  I  thank  you,  sincerely  thank  you,  for 
your  kind  and  affectionate  remembrance  of  me. 
Most  cordially  can  I  reciprocate  your  expressions  of 
Christian  love  and  fraternal  regard,  and  the  thought 
of  meeting  you,  and  others  like  you  in  heaven,  is 
very  pleasant  to  my  soul.  From  the  period  of  my 
first  becoming  acquainted  with  you,  and  sharing  in 
your  kind  hospitality,  I  have  not  ceased  to  think 
frequently  and  affectionately  of  you  as  a  friend  and 
brother  peculiarly  beloved  in  the  Lord.  How  I 
would  like  to  have  you  as  a  neighbouring  minister! 
and  how  pleasant  it  would  be  sometimes  to  labour 
together,  and  occasionally  to  exchange  pulpits  with 
each  other. 

"As  good  news  from  a  far  country  is  like  cold 
water  to  a  thirsty  soul,  so  has  your  letter  been  to  me. 
I  rejoice,  my  dear  brother,  I  rejoice  exceedingly  to 
learn  that  the  Lord  is  with  you,  blessing  so  abund- 
antly your  labours  of  love.  Thank  God,  the  promise 
is  true,  that  they  that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy; 
and  that  he  that  goeth  forth  weeping,  bearing  pre- 
cious seed,  shall  doubtless  come  again  with  rejoicing, 
bringing  his  sheaves  with  him.  O  for  a  stronger 
and  more  simple  faith  in  God's  blessed  word!  for 
want  of  this   we   oftentimes   lose   much.     '  One  of 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  323 

your  dear  boys,'  you  tell  me,  'has  shared  in  the 
blessings  recently  vouchsafed  to  the  people  of  your 
charge,  and  another  much  exercised.'  How  good 
has  the  Lord  been  to  you!  'I  have  no  greater  joy,' 
says  the  beloved  disciple,  'than  to  hear  that  my 
children  walk  in  the  truth.'  This  joy,  I  hope,  will 
be  fulfilled  in  you.  Tell  the  first  ever  to  lean  upon 
the  Saviour,  and  ever  to  be  firm  as  a  rock;  and  tell 
the  other  he  must  never  rest  until  he  has  found  the 
'  one  pearl  of  great  price.'  God  grant  that  in  due 
time  all  of  your  children  may  be  given  to  you  in  the 
Lord,  and  that  your  whole  family  may  not  only  be 
united  on  earth,  but  unbroken  in  heaven. 

"  I  returned  from  a  missionary  tour  in  Arkansas 
only  a  few  days  ago.  This  tour  lasted  eight  weeks, 
and  proved  a  very  laborious,  and  I  hope  I  may  add, 
useful  one.  I  preached  about  one  hundred  times, 
chiefly  in  the  towns  of  Little  Eock,  Van  Buren,  Fort 
Smith,  Clarksville,  Norristown,  and  Batesville.  The 
meetings  in  each  place  were  crowned  with  a  bless- 
ing; Christians  were  refreshed;  feeble  churches  were 
strengthened;  many  sinners  were  awakened;  and 
about  sixty  persons  were  hopefuUy  converted,  in  all. 
Some  were  hard  cases;  some  peculiarly  interesting; 
but  no  case  more  pleasing  than  that  of  Dr.  L.,  a 
physician,  and  son  of  my  old  friend.  Dr.  L.,  of 
Washington  City.  He  was  awakened  under  my 
preaching  at  Little  Rock,  but  did  not  profess  con- 
version until  a  few  days  after  I  left.  Both  he  and 
his  bride  brought  in! — and  perhaps  not  more  than 
one  week  after  their  marriage!  In  Batesville,  our 
meeting  was  a  particularly  delightful  one.  Several 
of  the  gayest  of  the  gay  were  then  brought  in.     Ar- 


324  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

kansas  is  a  rough  State,  behind  all  others  in  almost 
every  thing.  It  has  been  strangely  neglected,  par- 
ticularly by  our  denomination;  for  in  the  whole 
State,  it  seems,  there  are  not  more  than  some  four  or 
five  efficient  Presbyterian  preachers. 

"My  health  is  uniformly  good;  O  what  a  mercy! 
All  the  members  of  my  family  are  in  the  enjoyment 
of  their  wonted  health  also.  Please  present  our 
kindest  regards  to  Mrs.  G.,  and  all  the  members  of 
your  dear  family. 

"Yours,  in  a  precious  Saviour, 

Daniel  Baker." 


CHAPTER    XI. 

SECOND    MISSION    TO    TEXAS. 

The  autobiography  continues: 

It  was  in  June,  1848,  perceiving,  as  I  supposed, 
that  my  preaching  in  Holly  Springs  was  not  doing 
much  good,  I  became  restless  and  unhappy,  and 
wished  another  field,  where  I  might  be  more  useful. 
I  had  not  been  in  this  state  of  mind  many  months, 
when  one  day  going  to  the  post-office,  I  found  a  let- 
ter there  for  me,  a  crowded  sheet,  from  the  Rev.  S. 
F.  Cocke,  of  Lavaca,  giving  a  glowing  account  of 
Texas,  as  presenting  a  great  and  most  promising  field 
for  missionary  enterprise.  This  excellent  brother 
and  myself  had  some  acquaintance  many  years  ago, 
but  we  had  lost  the  history  of  each  other ;  and  in  his 
letter  he  stated,  that  although  he  did  not  exactly 
know  my  residence,  yet  at  a  venture  he  would  ad- 
dress me  at  HoUy  Springs.     This  seemed  to  me  very 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  325 

remarkable,  and  after  much  reflection  and  prayer,  1 
thought  I  must  at  least  visit  Texas  once  more.  Ac- 
cordingly I  resigned  my  pastoral  charge,  and  left  my 
family  in  Holly  Springs. 

At  this  time  Dr.  Baker  began  a  journal,  from  the 
pages  of  which  we  quote. 

Journal. — Texas  Mission,  1848.     On  steamboat. 

June  12th.  Having  preached  my  farewell  sermon 
yesterday  morning  to  a  very  crowded  house,  I  left 
Holly  Springs  in  the  stage  this  morning  for  Mem- 
phis, which  place  I  reached  about  four  o'clock,  P.  M. 
After  transacting  some  business,  took  up  my  lodging 
on  board  of  Shaw's  wharf-boat,  waiting  for  a  steamer 
for  New  Orleans. 

Ju7ie  13th.  Spent  the  day  chiefly  in  reading 
"  Every  Man's  Book,"  a  poor  concern.  About  eleven 
o'clock  at  night  got  on  board  the  Savanna,  secured 
a  good  berth,  and  "  turned  in." 

June  14:th.  Distributed  religious  tracts,  and  had 
some  conversation  with  a  profane  swearer.  Saw  on 
board  a  man  who  had  been  dreadfully  scalded  last 
Saturday  night,  on  board  the  Grey  Eagle,  which  had 
been  run  into  by  the  Sultana;  conversed  with  him 
about  the  goodness  of  God  in  sparing  his  life,  when, 
by  his  own  confession,  he  was  not  prepared  to  die. 
Circulated  for  him  a  subscription  paper,  and  raised 
twelve  dollars  and  thirty  cents;  cautioned  him 
against  buying  whiskey.  Continued  reading  "  Every 
Man's  Book;"  wanted  to  know  what  Universalists 
have  to  say. 

Thursday,  15th.  The  tracts  put  upon  the  tables 
having  been  all  taken  up,  this  morning  brought  forth 
28 


326  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

a  new  supply.  Eead  the  life  of  Boos,  a  very  interest- 
ing memoir  of  a  Roman  Catholic  with  Protestant 
principles.  A  gentleman,  Mr.  A.,  one  of  the  passen- 
gers, took  me  aside,  and  said  he  wished  to  take  coun- 
sel with  me.  He  said  there  was  a  man  on  board, 
who,  it  was  believed,  had  kidnapped  a  coloured 
woman  and  her  three  children,  passing  them  off  as 
his,  when  they  were  free.  It  was  affirmed  that  he, 
B.,  had  given  a  man  two  hundred  dollars  to  get  them 
on  board  at  Memphis.  The  woman,  upon  being 
questioned,  stated  that  her  former  master,  Mr.  T., 
had  emancipated  her  about  eight  years  ago ;  that  he 
was  now  dead,  but  had  two  brothers  living  at  Baton 
Rouge,  who  knew  all  about  the  matter.  Under  these 
circumstances,  it  was  thought  most  advisable  that  a 
letter  should  be  handed  to  these  brothers  immedi- 
ately on  the  boat  reaching  Baton  Bouge,  which  would 
be  to-morrow  afternoon.  Got  acquainted  with  a 
Roman  Catholic  priest  on  board;  had  an  argument 
with  him,  but  find  that  I  can  make  no  great  impres- 
sion on  him,  no  more  than  he  can  on  me.  He  read 
the  life  of  Boos,  and  I  a  Defence  of  Catholicism ;  we 
have  become  quite  intimate,  and  talk  very  freely. 

Friday^  IQth.  A  young  man  came  up  to  me,  and 
asked  if  my  name  was  Baker,  and  whether  I  was  not 
one  of  the  ministers  who  held  a  protracted  meeting 
in  Darien  some  eighteen  years  since.  Replying  in 
the  affirmative,  he  observed,  that  his  father  and 
mother  had  both  been  converted  under  my  preach- 
ing ;  that  he  had  heard  them  talk  a  great  deal  about 
me,  and  he  must  have  a  copy  of  my  sermons  to  send 
to  his  mother.  The  Roman  priest  and  myself  con- 
tinue our  friendly  discussions;  I  propounded  some 


REV.   DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  327 

*'  difficulties,"  which  he  met  very  lamely.  This  after- 
noon, a  little  before  sunset,  reached  the  landing  at 
Baton  Rouge.  The  letter  already  mentioned  was 
immediately  sent  off  to  Mr.  T.,  who  lives  five  miles 
from  town.  Just  as  the  boat  was  leaving  the  wharf, 
Mr.  T.  stepped  on  board,  and  told  the  captain  that 
there  was  a  free  coloured  woman  on  board  whom  he 
wished  to  see.  He  went  forward  to  the  bow,  and 
seeing  her,  said,  "Lydia,  is  this  youl"  The  poor 
creature,  overjoyed, exclaimed,  "O,  Mr.  T.,  I'm  mighty 
glad  to  see  you!"  and  rushing  forward  in  a  transport 
of  joy,  caught  his  hand  in  both  of  hers,  and  seemed 
ready  to  devour  it  with  her  kisses.  Poor  creature, 
how  precious  was  this  dehverer  to  her !  I  immedi- 
ately thought  of  the  sinner  received  by  the  great 
Eedeemer,  when  in  trouble  worse  than  that  of  this 
poor  kidnapped  woman.  At  a  late  hour  of  the  night 
Mr.  B.  was  taken  into  custody  by  an  officer  of  the 
law,  and  the  woman  and  her  children  were  in  the 
mean  time  put  ashore  by  the  captain,  and  taken 
care  of  by  her  protector,  Mr.  T.  Mr.  B.  stated  that 
the  woman's  former  master  owed  him,  and  had  no 
right  to  emancipate  her.  I  suspect  this  will  prove 
a  bad  business  for  B.  The  way  of  transgressors  is 
hard. 

Saturday^  11th,  B.  and  his  train  gone,  and  there 
is  much  talking  on  board  in  relation  to  the  matter. 
Reached  the  wharf  about  half-past  nine  o'clock, 
P.  M.,  and  stayed  on  board  of  the  boat;  by  reason  of 
musquitoes,  it  proved  a  tnstis  7iox — sad  night. 

Sabbath,  ISth.  Visited  Dr.  Scott's  Sabbath-school, 
and  made  some  remarks  to  teachers ;  about  two  hun- 
dred scholars.      Visited  brother   Stanton's  Sabbath- 


328  LIFE  AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

school;  addressed  the  scholars — about  eighty.  At 
eleven  o'clock  went  to  hear  brother  Stanton.  Dined 
with  him;  in  the  afternoon  preached  for  him;  the 
congregation  very  small.  Being  invited  by  my  good 
friend,  Mr.  C,  to  make  his  house  my  home,  I 
accepted  the  invitation,  and  tarried  with  him. 

Monday^  19  th.  First  thing,  I  inquired  for  a  con- 
veyance to  Texas;  found  a  schooner,  to  sail  in  the 
evening;  took  my  passage.  Conversed  with  I.  C, 
son  of  my  host,  who  has  had  the  ministry  in  view  for 
several  years,  but  who  had  become  discouraged; 
hope  my  remarks  had  a  happy  influence.  Went  to 
Mr.  M's  store,  and  got  a  supply  of  tracts. 

Tuesday,  20th.  Schooner  did  not  start  last  even- 
ing; disappointed;  returned  to  Mr.  C's,  and  had 
some  further  conversation  with  I.,  hope  it  may  please 
God  yet  to  lead  him  into  the  ministry.  Left  the 
wharf  finally  about  ten  o'clock  at  night;  schooner 
full  of  freight,  and  crowded  with  passengers,  chiefly 
foreigners,  bound  for  Texas. 

Sabbath,  25th.  After  a  pretty  good  run,  reached 
Pass  Cavallo  this  morning  about  nine  o'clock.  The 
captain,  having  anchored  off  Decora's  Point,  charter- 
ed a  shallop,  and  sent  the  passengers  to  Port  Lavaca, 
about  twenty-seven  miles ;  reached  there  about  half- 
past  three  in  the  afternoon.  Cordially  welcomed  by 
Mrs.  Cocke,  her  husband  being  absent.  At  her 
request,  authorized  notice  to  be  sent  around  that  I 
would  preach  at  night.  House  full,  and  many  stand- 
ing without,  at  the  door  and  windows;  audience  pro- 
foundly attentive ;  hope  some  good  was  done. 

Monday,  26th.  Wrote  a  long  letter  to  my  wife, 
and  brought   up   my  journal.      Fanned   by   Texas 


REV.   DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  329 

breezes.     Preached  at  night.    Wareroom  pretty  well 
fiUed. 

The  following  are  extracts  from  letters  written  at 
this  time. 

'Port  Lataca,  (Monday,)  June  26th,  1848. 

"  My  dear  E. — Well,  here  I  am  in  Texas,  at  Port 
Lavaca,  sure  enough;  and  in  fine  health  and  spirits 
too.  I  took  my  passage  in  New  Orleans,  on  board 
of  the  schooner  European,  on  Monday  morning  last, 
and  expected  to  leave  that  evening,  but,  owing  to 
some  cause  or  other,  the  vessel  did  not  start  until 
the  next  evening  at  ten  o'clock.  The  schooner  was 
a  small  one,  deeply  laden,  deck  all  littered  up  with 
barrels  and  other  freight;  and  we  had  passengers 
enough,  I  assure  you — something  like  thirty !  It  was 
very  unpleasant  to  be  so  crowded,  but  I  comforted 
myself  with  the  thought,  that  if  in  the  stage,  I  should 
probably  be  more  crowded  still,  and  moreover  the 
voyage  will  not  be  long.  Indeed,  I  was  glad  to  have 
any  mode  of  conveyance,  for  the  Government  needed 
some  two  hundred  vessels  to  bring  our  soldiers  back 
from  Mexico.  One  captain  was  offered,  as  I  was 
told,  thirty  thousand  dollars  a  month  for  the  use  of 
his  vessel! — a  steamer,  I  suppose.  But,  to  proceed: 
we  had  pleasant  weather  and  a  fine  run,  reaching 
Pass  Cavallo  yesterday  morning  about  nine  o'clock. 
The  captain  anchored,  and  as  he  wished  to  go  to 
Matagorda  first,  he  kindly  chartered  a  large  sailing 
boat,  or  sloop,  to  take  the  passengers  to  this  port, 
distant  about  twenty-eight  miles.  Getting  on  board, 
we  left  the  European  at  her  anchorage  about  noon, 
28* 


330  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

and,  with  a  fine  Texan  breeze,  we  reached  Lavaca 
about  half-past  three  o'clock,  passing  smoothly  and 
swiftly  over  the  gently  rolling  waves  of  this  beautiful 
bay,  called  Matagorda  Bay.  The  town  of  Lavaca 
was  soon  seen  in  the  distance;  drawing  nearer,  we 
had  presently  a  more  distinct  view  of  it,  pleasantly 
situated  upon  a  bluif  about  ten  or  twelve  feet  high. 
As  we  were  sailing  up,  I  observed  a  house,  a  neat 
dwelling  with  an  open  piazza  (here  called  a  gallery,) 
overlooking  the  bay.  Thinks  I  to  myself,  perhaps 
that  is  brother  Cocke's  residence;  and  sure  enough, 
so  it  was !  I  went  in,  and  met  a  most  cordial  recep- 
tion from  your  cousin,  Mrs.  C,  her  husband  not 
being  at  home.  Sitting  in  the  piazza,  overlooking 
the  broad  and  beautiful  bay,  fanned  by  the  fresh 
breezes  of  Texas,  we  chatted  awhile,  but  soon  found 
it  desirable  to  retreat  into  the  parlour,  as  the  breeze 
was  rather  too  strong  and  too  fresh  to  be  agreeable. 
O,  what  a  waving  of  window-curtains,  and  rattling 
of  sashes,  and  slamming  of  doors!  Verily,  if  these 
breezes  are  zephyrs,  they  cannot  be  called  gentle 
zephyrs,  for  they  are  not  gentle  at  all. 

"About  sunset  we  were  called  to  supper  in  the 
back  piazza — 'gallery,'  I  should  say — and  if  in  the 
front  piazza  I  had  a  wide  bay  before  me,  now  my 
eyes  rested  upon  a  broad  prairie;  each  a  kind  of 
ocean,  swept  by  the  ever  fresh  breezes  of  this  pro- 
mised land.  Brother  C.  not  being  at  home,  as  I 
have  said,  his  good  lady,  your  cousin,  asked  me  if  I 
would  preach  at  night.  I  consented,  with  pleasure, 
of  course ;  and  in  a  little  time,  every  family  in  town 
was  notified.     As  I  was  going  to  church — no,  it  was 


REV.    DANIEL    BAKER,    D.  D.  331 

a  little  before  we  started — I  asked,  'Do  you  think 
we  shall  have  thirty  persons  present^  'Yes,  a  hun- 
dred,' was  the  prompt  reply;  and  sure  enough,  so  it 
was.  The  house  was  full,  every  seat  occupied;  and 
I  know  not  how  many  standing  at  the  door,  smoking 
cigars.  O,  it  is  pleasant  to  preach  to  a  people  who 
seem  to  be  so  eager  to  hear  the  word  of  life.  It 
rouses  me  delightfully,  and  I  feel  as  if  I  was  in  my 
own  native  element;  or,  as  the  saying  is,  like  a  fish 
in  water.  I  do  believe  I  was  cut  out  for  a  mission- 
ary— no  mistake.  Addressing  a  new  and  hungry 
congregation,  I  seem  to  have  new  life  infused  into 
my  soul.  I  do  hope  my  Master  has  something 
important  for  me  to  do  in  Texas.  The  people  seem 
very  anxious  that  I  should  preach  again  to-night; 
indeed,  I  am  told  that  I  might  make  an  appointment 
for  any  time,  and  they  would  come.  *  *  *  O,  I 
must  not  forget  to  tell  you,  that  on  arriving  at  bro- 
ther C's  yesterday  afternoon,  I  asked  for  water  to 
wash  my  face  and  hands.  I  was  soon  taken  into  a 
room,  and  there  was  a  bowl  nearly  filled  to  the  brim; 
a  pleasant  sight  to  one  sadly  sunburnt — but  lo,  and 
behold,  it  was  salt  water! — and  this  morning,  for  my 
ablutions,  a  bowl  of  salt  water  again!  How  I  do 
miss  the  cool  fresh  water  out  of  my  own  well;  how 
I  feel  the  loss  of  it;  what  a  luxury  you  have  that  I 
have  not.  "Who  will  give  me  to  drink  of  the  well 
of  Bethlehem'?  said  David.  Who  will  give  me  to 
drink  of  my  own  well  in  Holly  Springs'?  said  I. 
But  we  have  fine  watermelons  here,  and  that,  you 
know,  will  slake  thirst  very  well. 

Daniel  Baker." 


332  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

(to  his  son  w.) 

"Port  Lavaca,  July  ISlh,  184S. 

"My  dear  Son — This,  my  sixth  letter  since  leav- 
ing home,  is  addressed  to  you.  I  still  think  Texas 
is  the  very  place  for  me,  and  perhaps  for  you  also. 
It  presents  a  new,  wide,  and  very  promising  field  for 
missionary  enterprise.  Yesterday  I  finished  a  meet- 
ing at  Indian  Point,  some  eight  or  nine  miles  distant 
from  this,  on  the  bay.  It  is  a  flourishing  village, 
that  has  come  into  notice  chiefly  within  the  last 
twelve  months;  formerly  being  a  place  for  German 
emigrants  who  were  in  a  state  of  transition  into  the 
interior.  Six  months  ago  there  were  not,  I  suppose, 
twenty  Americans  in  the  place;  now,  one  hundred 
or  more.  Eecently,  lots  have  been  sold  to  the 
amount  of  four  thousand  dollars ;  and  within  six  or 
eight  weeks  past,  persons  have  come  in  to  settle 
there  whose  property  is  valued  at  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars.  Well,  in  this  new  place,  I 
have  lately  preached  some  fifteen  sermons;  and  I  am 
happy  to  say  my  efforts  to  do  good  have  been  greatly 
blessed.  Six  or  eight  persons  hopefully  converted, 
the  first  who  ever  professed  conversion  in  the  place ; 
one  of  whom  I  baptized,  the  first  adult  ever  baptized 
in  the  place.  Moreover,  I  administered  the  sacra- 
ment of  the  Lord's  Supper;  the  first  time  this  sacra- 
ment also  was  ever  administered  in  the  place.  About 
twenty  persons  of  different  communions  sat  down  at 
tlie  table.  On  Monday,  took  the  requisite  steps  for 
organizing  a  Presbyterian  church  of  eleven  members ; 
the  first  church  organized  of  any  denomination. 

"I  ought  to  have  mentioned  that  I  succeeded  in 


REV.    DANIEL    BAKER,    D.  D.  333 

forming  a  Sabbath-school  here,  embracing  eight 
teachers  and  forty-four  scholars.  Astonishing !  No 
one  ever  dreamed  of  half  that  number.  Two  of  the 
converts,  so  called,  were  brought  in  at  the  right  time, 
one  to  be  Vice-Superintendent,  and  the  other  Libra- 
rian. I  have  many  sacrifices  to  make,  and  hardships 
to  encounter.  I  have  full  employment,  and  am  just 
as  happy  as  the  days  are  long. 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  his  wife.) 

*,  "Texas,  1848. 

"My  dear  E. — I  have  entered  upon  a  most  im- 
portant mission;  pray  for  me.  Do  you  feel  as  if 
you  were  left  alone'?  You  are  in  the  midst  of  your 
own  children,  and,  what  is  better  still,  I  trust  the 
God  of  heaven  is  with  you.  Cheer  up,  my  E.,  cheer 
up !  Cast  your  burden  upon  the  Lord — he  will  sus- 
tain you.  Take  every  thing  quietly.  Do  not  indulge 
in  any  anxious  care,  or  depressing  anxieties.  Have 
faith  in  God  and  his  promises.  Take  pleasure  in 
dwelling  upon  the  thought  that  God  reigns — that  a 
wise  and  merciful  Providence  extends  to  all  things, 
especially  to  every  thing  which  concerns  the  happi- 
ness of  his  children,  his  elect,  whom  he  hath  loved 
with  an  everlasting  love.  Think  much  about  heaven 
and  its  enduring  joys,  and  may  God  give  us  both 

'A  calm  and  heavenly  frame; 
A  light  to  shine  upon  the  road 
That  leads  us  to  the  Lamb. 

"  I  hope  to  see  you  again  in  three  months,  it  may 
be  in  less  time ;  and  even  if  we  should  never  meet 
again  on  earth,  have  we  not  the  same  home  in  the 


334  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

skies'?  Tell  H.  to  be  sure  to  dig  deep  and  lay  a 
good  foundation.  God  grant  we  may  all  finally  land 
in  heaven.  Once  again,  I  say,  cheer  up,  and  forget 
not  to  i)ray  for  your  husband, 

Daniel  Baker." 

Journal  continued — 1848. 

Tuesday^  21th.  Brother  Cocke  not  returned  yet; 
felt  crippled,  and  scarcely  knew  what  to  do.  Spent 
much  of  the  day  in  reading,  and  preached  at  night. 
Congregation  much  the  same  as  last  night,  but 
rather  more  solemn.  At  the  close  of  the  services 
addressed  the  coloured  people  standing  about  the 
door  on  the  outside. 

Wednesday^  28th.  Procured  some  religious  tracts, 
and  spent  a  good  part  of  the  forenoon  in  visiting  and 
distributing  them.  Brother  C.  came  home  about  two 
o'clock;  preached  at  night. 

Thursday,  29  th.  Preached  at  night,  and  spent  the 
day  in  reading  and  visiting.  Several  prominent  men 
of  the  place  seem  to  be  getting  much  interested  in 
religious  matters. 

Friday,  SOth.  Preached  in  the  morning.  Some 
considerable  tenderness,  especially  a  certain  gentle- 
man, whose  wife  had  been  brought  in  under  my 
preaching  when  I  was  in  Texas,  about  eight  years 
since.  A  lady  of  great  energy  of  character  and  influ- 
ence, but  hitherto  no  professor,  appears  to  be  getting 
very  much  interested.  As  a  proof  of  her  energy  of 
character,  I  was  told  that  some  years  ago,  when 
President  Houston  ordered  the  archives  to  be  re- 
moved from  Austin  to  Houston,  she  opposed  the 
order;  and  when  the  men  appointed  by  the  Presi- 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  835 

dent  were  about  removing  them  by  force,  she  had  a 
cannon  loaded  and  properly  stationed,  and  having  a 
match  in  her  hand,  she  declared  she  would  fire  upon 
any  person  who  attempted  to  touch  the  archives; 
and  did  actually,  for  the  time,  prevent  the  removal. 
Preached  at  night;  congregation  larger  than  usual. 

Saturday^  July  \st.  Attended  prayer-meeting  at 
nine  o'clock,  and  preached  at  eleven,  and  also  at 
night. 

Sabbath^  2d.  I  preached  in  the  morning;  brother 
C.  administered  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 
I  baptized  Mrs.  B.,  who  I  trust  is  a  truly  converted 
person.  In  the  afternoon  I  addressed  the  children, 
many  parents  and  others  being  present;  much  good 
done.  Preached  at  night;  crowded  house;  many 
out  in  the  piazza. 

Monday.,  3f?.  Addressed  mothers  in  the  morning, 
and  preached  at  night;  amongst  others,  a  lady  of 
fashion,  Mrs.  S.,  was  much  wrought  upon.  To- 
morrow there  is  to  be  a  Fourth  of  July  celebration 
in  the  morning  and  a  fair  at  night. 

Tuesday^  4:th.  Attended  the  celebration ;  was  called 
upon  to  offer  the  prayer,  after  which  a  young  lawyer, 
Mr.  L.,  delivered  an  oration,  which  was  really  splen- 
did. At  night,  took  two  or  three  turns  in  the  room 
where  the  fair  was  held,  and  without  taking  supper 
returned  to  my  lodgings  at  brother  C's.  Had  some 
conversation  with  two  comparatively  young  men, 
who,  although  professors  elsewhere  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian church,  have  not  connected  themselves  with  the 
church  here.  They  started  some  difficulties  which  I 
hope  to  be  able  to  remove. 

Wednesday,  5th.     In  the  afternoon  passed  over  to 


336  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

Indian  Point,  some  eight  or  ten  miles  distant,  and 
preached  at  night  in  the  school-room,  which  was 
excessively  crowded,  many  also  standing  without. 
This  town,  a  year  ago,  had  not  more  perhaps  than 
three  or  four  American  families ;  now  I  suppose  some 
forty  or  fifty. 

Thursday/,  6th.  Preached  in  the  morning  and  at 
night  to  nearly  the  whole  population,  in  a  fine  room 
that  had  been  fitted  up  for  the  occasion;  all  very 
attentive,  and  some  much  wrought  upon. 

Friday^  1th.  Preached  in  the  morning,  and  after 
preaching  ascertained  that  the  people  generally  were 
desirous  of  having  a  Sabbath-school.  Having  brought 
with  me  a  supply  of  books,  I  mentioned  the  fact.  In 
a  few  hours,  more  than  a  sufficient  amount  was  sub- 
scribed to  purchase  a  library,  &c.  At  night  brother 
C.  preached  a  very  good  sermon  from  these  words, 
"How  long  halt  ye  between  two  opinions'?"  I  fol- 
lowed with  an  exhortation;  some  good  was  done,  it 
is  hoped.  Made  an  appointment  to  administer  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  next  Sabbath-week, 
preaching  to  commence  on  Thursday  evening. 

Saturday^  8th.  Keturned  to  Port  Lavaca,  and 
preached  at  night;  congregation  not  so  large  as 
usual. 

Sahhath,  9th.  Preached  in  the  morning  to  a  full 
house,  and  also  at  night.  In  the  afternoon  preached 
to  the  blacks;  some  wept.  After  the  sermon,  came 
out,  and  so  to  speak,  preached  another  sermon  at  the 
door. 

Wednesday,  I2th.  Went  out  with  brother  C.  and 
wife,  to  visit  Mr.  P.  and  wife,  some  two  miles  in  the 
country.     Found  them  both  sick;  prayed  with  them 


337 

before  I  left.  At  niglit,  attended  a  meeting  of  the 
citizens,  to  talk  about  the  propriety  of  forming  a 
Temperance  Society;  made  a  speech,  and  submitted 
the  form  of  a  constitution,  which  was  adopted.  The 
meeting  proved  more  interesting  than  was  expected. 
Brother  C.  seemed  to  think  that  it  was  worth  while 
for  me  to  have  come  from  Mississippi,  if  I  had  done 
nothing  else. 

Tkursdaij,  IZth.  Went  again  to  Indian  Point  to 
preach  a  few  days,  and  administer  the  Sacrament 
next  Sabbath.  When  we  went  last  week,  at  the 
pressing  invitation  of  Mr.  W.,  the  proprietor  of  the 
village,  we  were  left  to  bear  our  own  expenses ;  and 
although  he  had  provided  a  room  for  our  accommo- 
dation, when  we  retired,  after  preaching,  found  that 
there  was  no  chair,  table,  or  bed  in  the  room.  At 
that  late  hour  we  had  to  seek  accommodations  else- 
where. Hope  a  bed  will  be  provided  this  time. 
Stayed  with  Mr.  B's  family,  who  lived  in  the  attic 
story;  slept  on  a  mattrass  in  the  ware-room,  amid 
hogsheads  of  sugar,  &c. 

Monday^  11th.  Eeturned  to  Port  Lavaca  this 
afternoon,  after  preaching  eight  sermons  at  Indian 
Point.  Had  a  blessed  meeting ;  seven  or  eight  hope- 
fully converted;  several  more  left  under  serious  im- 
pressions. Administered  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  to  some  twenty  communicants  of  different 
denominations.  Proposed  to  organize  a  Presbyterian 
church;  received  the  names  of  eleven  persons,  ^ve 
males  and  six  females ;  five  of  whom  were  received 
on  examination,  and  six  from  other  churches.  As 
four  of  those  who  joined  were  members  of  other 
churches,  and  were  not  furnished  with  letters  of  dis- 
29 


338  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

mission,  and  the  male  converts  were  too  recently 
converted  to  be  elected  elders,  I  thought  it  advisable 
to  postpone  for  a  few  weeks  the  regular  organization 
of  the  church.  On  Saturday  afternoon,  addressed 
parents  and  children,  and  formed  a  Sunday-school 
auxiliary  to  the  American  Sunday-school  Union; 
eight  teachers,  and  forty-four  scholars — astonishing! 
Only  a  few  months  ago  there  were  not  more  than 
four  or  five  American  families  in  the  place.  Bap- 
tized Mrs.  E.,  the  first  person  ever  baptized  at  the 
place;  those  converted  the  first  ever  converted  at  the 
Point;  and  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  had 
never  been  administered  there  before.  This  meeting 
has  proved,  in  every  respect,  a  most  interesting  and 
delightful  one.  The  meeting  at  Port  Lavaca  might 
have  been  equally  blessed  had  it  not  been  for  three 
things,  the  Fourth  of  July,  the  Ladies'  fair,  and  a 
ball,  all  in  immediate  prospect. 

Within  six  or  eight  weeks  past  lots  have  been  sold 
at  Indian  Point  to  the  amount  of  four  thousand  dol- 
lars, and  persons  have  come  to  reside  whose  property 
is  estimated  to  be  worth  two  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars ;  likely  to  be  an  important  place  before 
long.  At  night,  attended  a  meeting  of  the  Tem- 
perance Society  in  Port  Lavaca;  made  a  speech; 
fourteen  new  names  added. 

Tuesday^  ISth.  Spent  the  day  in  writing  to  my 
son  W.,  reading,  visiting,  &c. 

Wednesday^  \9th.  Made  arrangements  for  start- 
ing, after  an  early  breakfast  this  morning,  for  Victo- 
ria, via  the  Eev.  Mr.  B's,  but  the  horse  I  was  to  ride 
had  been  sent  for  water,  and  did  not  return  at  the 
time    expected.      Finally   concluded   to  wait    until 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  339 

to-morrow  morning,  and  go  in  the  stage.  Spent  the 
day  in  reading  Kirwan's  Letters,  &c.  Attended 
prayer-meeting  at  night. 

Thursday,  20th.  About  half-past  nine  set  out  for 
Victoria.  Dined  at  Mr.  M's  pleasant  place.  Gains, 
mine  host,  charged  nothing  for  dinner ;  wanted  me 
to  preach  in  that  neighbourhood.  In  the  afternoon 
was  overtaken  in  a  very  severe  thunder-storm.  Stage 
so  indifferent,  got  very  wet.  Stopped  at  a  house 
which  proved  to  be  Dr.  C's.  Gave  me  a  cordial 
reception. 

Friday,  2\st.  Dr.  C.  having  borrowed  a  horse 
and  buggy,  took  me  to  Victoria  in  the  morning,  and 
lodged  me  with  Mr.  C,  an  elder,  and  the  only  male 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  the  place. 
Preached  at  night.  Things  in  a  sad  state  here;  no 
church  fit  to  preach  in,  and,  although  the  population 
may  be  eight  hundred,  only  about  eight  male  pro- 
fessors of  all  Protestant  denominations. 

Saturday,  22d.  Preached  in  the  morning;  ad- 
dressed professors  of  religion  in  the  afternoon;  and 
preached  again  at  night.  Congregation  increasing. 
"We  occupied  the  brick  school-house,  the  old  church 
being  only  fit  for  lizards  and  snakes. 

Sabbath,  2Sd.  Had  prayer-meeting  at  half-past 
eight;  some  tenderness.  Preached  to  an  overflow- 
in  house;  some  twenty  or  thirty  without.  In  the 
afternoon  preached  a  Calvinistic  sermon.  Well  re- 
ceived. At  night,  an  overflowing  house  and  great 
solemnity. 

Monday,  24,th.  Could  not  attend  prayer-meeting 
in  the  morning  by  reason  of  an  inflamed  eye.  Put- 
ting  a  green  patch   on   my   eye,   preached  in  the 


340  LIFE   AND   LABOUKS  OF   THE 

morning  and  at  night.  In  the  afternoon,  addressed 
children.  Three  or  four  persons  under  awakenings ; 
one  professed  conversion;  was  told  there  was  at 
night  as  many  persons  without  as  within.  At  night 
service,  made  another  appointment  to  preach  to- 
morrow night,  if  my  eye  would  permit.  Made 
inquiries,  and  found  the  people  very  ready  to  do 
something  for  the  support  of  the  gospel;  could  raise, 
perhaps,  two  hundred  dollars.  Mr.  P.  and  Dr.  C, 
who  had  been  members  in  the  old  States,  but  not 
enrolled  here,  signified  their  wish  to  be  enrolled; 
and  also  Mrs.  H.,  who  had  been  a  member  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  elsewhere.  Made  arrangements 
for  a  camp,  or  protracted  meeting,  to  be  held  on 
Diamond  Hill,  on  the  10th  of  August  next. 

Tuesdai/^  2Dth.  My  eye  much  inflamed;  called  in 
a  physician;  cupped  and  blistered;  was  confined  all 
day  to  my  bed;  of  course,  did  not  preach  at  night. 
The  people  just  in  the  spirit  of  attending  upon 
preaching — mysterious  providence ! 

Sabbath,  August  IWi.  Have  had,  so  to  speak,  a 
long  nightmare;  for  nearly  three  full  weeks  in 
almost  total  darkness.  This  day  one  Mr.  A.  called 
to  see  me.  Having  reason  to  believe  he  had  been 
touched  under  my  preaching,  although  my  eyes  were 
still  bandaged  so  that  I  could  not  see  him,  I  exhorted 
him  to  attend  without  delay  to  the  great  concern. 

Tuesday,  15th.  Mr.  A.  called  in  the  evening  in 
his  carry-all,  and  invited  me  to  go  out  and  spend  the 
night  with  him  in  the  country,  about  two  miles. 
Hardly  thought  it  prudent  to  go,  by  reason  of  the 
state  of  my  eyes;  but  as  he  seemed  very  anxious,  I 
went  with  him.     Immediately  after  family  worship, 


REV.  DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  341 

I  made  some  remarks  of  a  religious  nature,  when,  to 
my  astonishment  and  most  agreeable  surprise,  he 
told  me  that  he  had  found  peace  in  believing,  as  he 
trusted,  that  morning.  It  seems  my  remarks  to 
him  last  Sunday,  when  on  my  bed,  had  great  effect. 
Having  no  rest  in  his  mind,  on  Monday  afternoon  he 
sent  for  his  brother-in-law,  Dr.  P.,  who  was  a  pro- 
fessor; told  him  his  distress,  and  asked  what  he 
must  do  to  be  ^ved.  Could  not  sleep  all  that  night ; 
but  early  on  Tuesday  morning  found  peace.  This 
relation  of  his  experience  produced  great  effect  upon 
all  present ;  appeared  like  a  revival  on  a  small  scale. 
After  much  conversation  and  singing,  Mr.  A.  went 
out  and  exhorted  his  servants,  who  had  gathered 
about  the  door  to  hear  what  was  going  on;  ex- 
horted them  to  seek  the  salvation  of  their  souls,  until 
a  late  hour.     Blessed  be  God ! 

During  his  long  imprisonment  in  his  chamber. 
Dr.  Baker's  chief  sorrow  was  that  he  was  thus  stayed 
from  his  efforts  to  do  good.  With  an  active  spirit 
that  knew  no  rest,  he  employed  much  of  his  time  in 
dictating  letters — letters  breathing  the  very  spirit  of 
resignation  to  the  will  of  God.  Cessation  from 
labour  was  to  him  a  heavy  affliction  of  itself  This 
reminds  the  writer,  that  being  with  him  once  during 
one  of  his  missionary  tours,  on  which  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  preach  at  least  once  every  day,  he  com- 
plained one  Monday  morning  of  having  so  "dissi- 
pated a  feeling — nothing  to  do."  He  had  preached 
twice  the  day  before,  and  was  to  preach  at  least  once 
on  the  day  after;  but  something  prevented  his 
preaching  that  day.  During  his  temporary  blind- 
29* 


342  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

ness,  he  manifested  a  care  to  give  as  little  trouble  as 
possible,  and  a  gratitude  for  the  attentions  shown 
him,  characteristic  of  the  man.  "It  matters  not," 
said  he,  when  it  seemed  most  probable  he  would 
never  see  again,  "it  matters  not;  I  shall  neverthe- 
less see  the  King  in  his  beauty."  The  eyes  of  his 
kind  host  filled  with  tears  when,  years  after,  he 
related  this  incident  to  the  writer. 

Sabbath,  20th.  Ventured  to  preach  this  morning. 
In  the  afternoon,  Dr.  C.  and  wife  were  received  as 
members. 

Monday,  2\st.  Fear  I  have  sustained  some  injury 
to  my  eyes  by  preaching  yesterday,  but  hope  not 
much. 

Tuesday,  22d.  Expected  to  start  this  morning  for 
brother  B's  neighbourhood,  but  was  prevented  by  the 
weather  and  the  state  of  my  eyes. 

Friday,  2bth.  Set  out  for  Cuero.  Eeached  Mr. 
James  S's,  (elder.) 

Sabbath,  21th,  Rode  ten  miles,  and  preached  with 
difficulty  on  account  of  my  eyes.  In  the  afternoon, 
spoke  with  more  ease.     Made  an  appointment  for 

next  day,  same  place.     Went  home  with  Mr. , 

and  next  day  was  pleased  to  find  nearly  as  many 
present  as  on  the  Sabbath.  Preached  and  addressed 
parents  and  children  two  hours.  In  the  afternoon, 
went  home  with  Mr.  T.,  and  spent  the  next  day  at 
Dr.  P's. 

Wednesday,  SOth.  Called  upon  Mr.  B.,  and  spent 
the  night  with  him  on  my  way  to  the  "Colletts." 
"Was  told  that  Dr.  V,  intended  to  build  a  church  on 
his   land;    and   said   he   would   give   one    hundred 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  343 

dollars  a  year  to  any  preacher  who  could  instruct 
him. 

Thursday^  2>\st,  Preached  in  the  morning  and 
afternoon  at  the  house  of  Mr.  P.  About  twenty 
persons  present;  all  unconverted  except  one. 

Friday,  September,  1st.  Preached  at  the  house  of 
Mr.  C.  to  eighteen  adults,  nearly  every  one  uncon- 
verted.    Some  impression  was  made. 

Saturday,  2d.  Preached  at  the  house  of  Elder  S. 
to  about  thirty;  some  feeUng. 

Sabbath,  3d  Preached  twice  in  the  open  air 
without  goggles,  to,  it  may  be,  seventy — great  im- 
pression. 

Monday,  4:th.  Preached  to  about  forty;  much 
tenderness.  One  professed  conversion,  and  nearly 
all  much  wrought  upon. 

Tuesday,  5th.     Set  off  for  Victoria. 

Wednesday,  6th.     Preached  at  Mr.  A's. 

Thursday,  1th.  Commenced  protracted  meeting 
at  Victoria;  brothers  C,  B.,  and  C.  present. 

Tuesday,  12th  Closed  the  meeting.  Preached 
nine  sermons,  besides  addresses,  &c.  Good  meet- 
ing. Perhaps  twelve  or  fifteen  hopefully  converted. 
During  the  meeting,  baptized  two  adults,  Mr.  A.  and 
Mrs.  B.,  and  ordained  two  elders,  Mr.  P.  and  Dr.  C. 

Thursday,  14:th.  In  the  evening  had  a  meeting 
exclusively  for  the  unconverted;  good  attendance, 
and  I  believe  much  good  was  done. 

It  shows  the  playful  disposition  of  the  subject  of 
this  Memoir,  that  in  the  course  of  a  long  letter  to 
his  family,  dated  Victoria,  September  6th,  1848,  he 
thus  writes :  "  While  I  think  of  it,  I  will  mention  an 


344  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

incident  told  me  by  one  whom  everybody  respects, 
and  loves,  and  calls  '  Uncle  Jimmy,'  an  elder  of  the 
church  here.  This  good  man  went  to  church  one 
day  to  hear  a  preacher  named  S.  On  that  occasion, 
for  some  reason  or  other,  the  congregation  was  rather 
small,  the  preacher  having  no  hearers  except  Mr. 
Smith,  (my  informant,)  a  Mr  D.,  and  two  children, 
four  in  all.  Notwithstanding  the  smallness  of  the 
congregation,  the  preacher,  having  sung  and  prayed, 
rose  and  was  about  to  take  his  text,  when  Mr.  D., 
with  whom  the  preacher  had  stayed  the  night  be- 
fore, addressed  him  thus:  'Mr.  S.,  as  I  am  a  sort  of 
Roman  Catholic,  I  would  like  to  confess  as  I  go. 
I  was  drunk  last  night.'  '  Why,'  replied,  Mr.  S., 
'you  treated  me  very  well,  sir.'  '  Yes,'  said  he,  '  but 
I  was  drunk,  veri/  drunk;  and  Mr.  S.,'  continued  he, 
^iiyou  were  ever  drunk,  you  must  know  how  bad  a 
man  feels  when  he  is  getting  sober.  So  I  will  lie 
down  upon  this  bench,  Mr.  S.,  and  as  I  don't  wish  to 
disturb  the  congregation,  I  hope,  Mr.  Smith,'  he  said, 
turning  to  uncle  Jimmy,  '  I  hope  if  I  should  snore 
you  will  wake  me ;  for  I  dont  wish  to  disturb  the 
congregation.'  Saying  this,  he  stretched  himself 
upon  the  bench,  and  was  soon  fast  asleep,  sure 
enough ;  and  beginning  to  snore,  he  awoke,  and 
making  a  move  for  the  door,  '  Mr.  S.,'  he  said  to  the 
preacher,  '  as  I  don't  wish  to  disturb  the  congrega- 
tion, I  believe  I  will  go  and  sleep  under  the  shade  of 
that  live-oak  yonder.'  So  off  he  went,  and  the  con- 
gregation was  reduced  to  Uncle  Jimmy  and  the  two 
children;  and  as  the  preacher  occupied  about  an 
hour  and  a  half,  and  the  children  went  out  and  in, 
eating  grapes.  Uncle  Jimmy    composed   the   entire 


KEV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  345 

congregation  which  Mr.  D.  was  so  anxious  not  to 
disturb." 

The  autobiography  resumed. 

After  preaching  some  time  to  full  and  very  atten- 
tive audiences  in  Victoria,  I  took  a  tour  higher  up 
into  the  country.  I  went  to  Cuero  and  preached, 
and  there  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  S.,  clerk  of 
the  court,  which  was  held  in  a  log-house  not  more 
than  twelve  feet  square.  I  also  called  upon  Dr.  P., 
whose  wife  had  been  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  in  "the  States."  Among  other  places  visited 
by  me  was  Clinton,  where  I  preached  to  some  twenty 
persons,  not  one  of  whom,  save  the  elder  who  was 
with  me,  made  any  profession  of  religion ;  no,  not 
one,  male  or  female.  This,  however,  in  that  region 
of  country,  I  found  to  be  no  uncommon  tiling.  I 
preached  also  at  what  is  termed  the  "  Colletts."  It 
was  in  a  private  house,  that  of  a  man  who,  as  I  found 
out  afterwards,  was  very  profane.  Here  I  took  occa- 
sion to  repeat  the  remark  of  the  old  writer,  about 
the  devil  turning  fisherman,  and  catching  profane 
swearers  with  the  naked  hook.  Like  Captain  C,  of 
whom  I  have  made  mention,  the  remark  struck  him 
very  forcibly;  and  a  few  days  after,  he  told  me  that 
a  circumstance  had  lately  happened  to  him  which 
made  the  impression  upon  his  feelings  peculiarly 
lively.  It  was  this :  Walking  in  his  piazza  one  day, 
he  came  in  contact  with  a  line  having  a  naked  hook 
hanging  down.  Coming  against  it  with  some  force, 
it  caught  him  by  the  ear;  and  so  completely  fastened 
was  the  hook  in  his  ear,  that  he  had  to  break  the 
hook  before  it  could  be  removed.  Whether  the 
impression  made  upon  him  was  as  good  in  its  results 


346  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

as  in  the  case  of  Captain  C,  I  know  not ;  but  one 
thing  was  encouraging,  some  few  days  afterwards 
he  came  about  thirty  miles  to  hear  me  preach. 

After  leaving  Victoria,  I  preached  one  sermon  to  a 
small  company  in  brother  B's  bounds,  and  then  in 
company  with  him  I  passed  on  to  Goliad,  where  I 
preached  three  times  on  the  Sabbath,  and  twice  on 
the  day  following,  to  congregations  which  increased 
in  number  and  interest  every  time.  Goliad  is  the 
county  seat  of  Goliad  county.  At  the  time  I  visited 
it,  the  population  numbered  four  hundred  and  fifty; 
three  years  before,  there  were  only  two  American 
families  in  the  whole  county.  At  Goliad,  I  saw  two 
of  the  old  mihtary  stations — one  on  each  side  of 
the  Guadaloupe  river — the  walls  cracked,  and  the 
whole  establishment  in  a  dilapidated  state ;  but  being 
upon  elevated  positions,  they  could  be  seen  over  the 
wide  surrounding  prairies  at  a  great  distance;  and 
when  seen,  especially  at  the  rising  or  setting  of  the 
sun,  they  presented  an  appearance  both  romantic  and 
grand.  I  walked  through  the  building  on  the  west 
side  of  the  river,  and  with  melancholy  interest  looked 
into  the  room  where  Fannin  had  been  confined  as  a 
prisoner ;  and  coming  out,  the  fatal  spot  was  pointed 
out  to  me  where  he  and  his  brave  men,  some  three 
hundred  in  number,  were  so  cruelly  and  treacherously 
murdered  in  cold  blood. 

Here  I  saw  and  conversed  with  Judge  Hunter,  one 
of  the  very  few  who  escaped  that  dreadful  massacre. 
He  told  me  that  he  was  led  out  with  his  companions 
to  be  shot;  and  when,  at  the  firing,  some  two  hun- 
dred and  ninety  fell  dead,  he,  although  not  touched, 
fell  upon  his  face  as  dead  also.     After  remaining 


RET.   DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  347 

motionless  for  a  time,  a  Mexican  came,  and  standing 
over  him,  drove  a  bayonet  into  his  body.  This  was 
not  all;  the  soldier  then  struck  him  on  his  head 
several  times  with  the  butt-end  of  his  musket.  To 
crown  the  matter,  an  attempt  was  made  to  cut  his 
throat.  The  knife,  however,  being  dull,  no  serious 
injury  was  done  in  that  way.  As  Judge  Hunter 
narrated  these  things,  he  removed  his  stock,  and 
showed  me  the  scar  upon  his  neck.  The  whole 
account  which  he  gave  of  the  matter  was  indeed  a 
thrilling  one. 

After  returning  and  preaching  one  more  sermon 
in  brother  Blair's  bounds,  midway  between  Victoria 
and  Lavaca,  1  hurried  on  to  fulfil  an  appointment 
for  a  two  days'  meeting  in  Dr.  P's  neighbourhood. 
There  was  some  considerable  interest  awakened,  and 
the  people  coming  in  from  all  quarters,  greatly  desired 
that  the  meeting  should  be  continued ;  but  the  thing 
could  not  be,  as  I  was  confined  to  my  chamber  the 
next  day  by  rheumatic  pains  in  my  head,  occasioned 
by  exposure  the  day  previous.  Leaving  that  neigh- 
bourhood, I  went  to  San  Antonio,  taking  Gonzales, 
Seguin,  and  New  Braunfels  in  my  route. 

At  this  time  the  Indians  were  very  troublesome  in 
all  that  region,  and  my  life  was  in  much  danger ;  but 
protected  by  a  kind  Providence,  I  reached  San  Anto- 
nio in  safety,  where  I  preached  several  days  in  a 
church  built  by  the  praiseworthy  exertions  of  brother 
McCullough.  The  people  came  out  in  crowds,  and 
behaved  extremely  well.  Here  I  found  Mr.  A.,  the 
former  disciple  of  Fanny  Wright,  who  had  been 
brought  in  under  my  preaching  in  Florida,  a  long 


348  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

time  ago.     I  was  much  rejoiced  to  find  him  steadfast 
in  the  faith. 

Every  day  whilst  I  was  in  San  Antonio,  I  heard 
of  the  Indians  committing  murder  and  depredations 
all  around.  Purposing,  however,  to  go  to  Austin,  I 
borrowed  a  gun,  but  finding  it  to  me  an  awkward 
weapon,  I  returned  it ;  and  it  was  well,  for  had  trou- 
ble come,  in  all  probability  I  would  have  shot  at  the 
stars  just  as  soon  as  at  the  Indians.  Understanding, 
however,  that  the  stage  would  leave  San  Antonio  for 
Austin  on  Monday  morning,  with  several  gentlemen 
on  horseback  for  mutual  protection,  I  thought  I 
would  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity,  and  accord- 
ingly made  arrangements  to  go  along  with  them. 
Taking  time,  however,  by  the  forelock,  I  started  a 
little  earlier  than  the  hour  fixed  upon,  and  permit- 
ting my  horse  to  walk  on  slowly,  I  passed  by  the 
Alamo,  and  soon  found  myself  out  of  sight  of  the 
town,  on  the  road  solitary  and  alone.  I  did  not  like 
it  much,  but,  looking  back  frequently,  I  expected 
every  moment  to  see  my  company  coming  on;  but 
no;  Mr.  T.,  the  contractor,  having  been  married 
that  morning,  occasioned  a  delay  of  more  than  an 
hour.  By  this  time  I  had  reached  the  Salado,  where 
the  Indians  had  been  prowling  a  few  days  before. 
I  looked  with  some  timidity,  I  confess,  on  this  side 
and  that,  knowing  that  I  was  in  some  peril.  As  I 
was  slowly  ascending  the  sloping  hill  on  the  cast 
side  of  the  Salado,  I  met  a  young  man  on  horse- 
back, heavily  armed.  Stopping  to  talk  a  little  on  the 
road,  he  pointed  to  a  place  on  my  left,  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  distant,  and  said,  "  There  are  some 
Indians  now!"    With  their  blankets  wrapped  around 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  349 

them,  they  were  partly  concealed  by  the  musquit 
bushes  and  the  grass.  Becoming  very  social  in  my 
feelings,  rather  than  have  no  company  at  all,  I  con- 
cluded to  go  back  with  this  young  man.  After  a 
short  time,  however,  I  fell  in  with  my  company,  and 
with  them  took  a  fresh  start  for  Austin.  That  night 
we  camped  out  where  the  Indians  had  been  com- 
mitting depredations  the  very  night  before. 

About  this  time  and  place  a  report  got  abroad 
that  I  was  murdered  by  the  Indians.  The  men,  it 
seems,  reported  that  they  saw  me  going  back  to  San 
Antonio,  and  when  asked  why  I  was  going  back,  I 
told  them  that  I  had  seen  Indians ;  and  when  they 
rallied  me  and  pronounced  me  a  greenhorn,  who  in 
my  fright  took  something  else  for  Indians — they  said 
I  could  not  stand  that,  and  to  show  them  my 
courage,  I  just  brushed  up  and  went  on  ahead,  and 
they  saw  no  more  of  me  until  they  saw  my  scalp  on 
the  road,  and  a  part  of  my  black  coat!  Whether 
this  was  the  true  origin  of  the  report  of  my  death,  I 
know  not ;  but  it  was  soon  spread  abroad  in  all  the 
papers,  and  generally  believed  too,  that  I  was  dead — 
cruelly  murdered  in  cold  blood!  My  wife's  sister, 
hearing  the  intelligence,  put  on  mourning.  My  own 
brother  kindly  wrote  a  letter  of  condolence  to  my 
wife,  beginning  with  these  words,  "  My  dear  sister — 
what  shall  I  sayf  &c. ;  and  Dr.  Laurie,  of  Washing- 
ton City,  wrote  me  that  he  had  prepared  to  preach 
my  funeral  sermon — had  actually  risen  to  his  feet, 
and  announced  his  text,  when  some  one  handed  him 
a  note  in  the  pulpit,  stating  that  it  was  a  mis- 
take. Dr.  L.,  in  his  letter  to  me,  winds  up  with 
this  remark:  "I  was  glad  to  have  the  report  cor- 
30 


350  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

rected,  but  certainly  it  spoiled  my  sermon."  This 
affair  gave  me  the  rare  privilege  of  reading  my  own 
obituary. 

In  proceeding  with  the  narrative,  we  would  remark 
that  what  follows  was  written  immediately  on  his 
return  home  from  Texas. 

In  due  time  I  arrived  safely  at  Austin,  the  capital 
of  Texas;  and  here,  besides  preaching  some  fifteen 
sermons  to  promiscuous  assemblies  in  that  city,  I 
made  special  addresses  to  heads  of  families,  to  young 
men,  to  young  ladies,  and  to  children,  not  forgetting 
the  children  of  Ham.  Our  meetings  were  chiefly 
at  night,  and  were  invariably  well  attended  by  all 
classes,  even  the  most  prominent  members  of  govern- 
ment. Moreover,  we  had  some  interesting  inquiry 
meetings;  some  fifteen  individuals  or  more  were 
numbered  with  the  anxious,  of  whom  several  gave 
evidence  of  a  blessed  spiritual  change,  and  would  no 
doubt  have  connected  themselves  with  the  Presby- 
terian church,  had  one  been  in  existence  there.  I 
did  hope  to  have  the  pleasure  of  organizing  one,  but 
the  grand  difficulty  here,  as  in  many  other  places, 
was  to  get  suitable  persons  to  fill  the  office  of  ruling 
elders.  I  think  that  a  devoted  and  talented  minister 
of  our  communion  might  be  very  useful  here.  I  say 
talented,  because  there  is  an  unusual  amount  of 
intelligence  in  this  city;  and,  I  may  add,  encased 
infidelity — all  profess  to  believe  the  Bible,  and  yet 
many  take  a  marvellous  pleasure  in  repeating  cavils 
and  objections  of  every  kind.  Permit  me  here  to 
repeat  a  remark  made  in  my  former  report,  "Let  in- 
ferior preachers  be  retained  in  the  East;  let  talented 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  351 

ones  be  sent  to  the  West."  It  is  easier  to  keep  a 
house,  already  built,  from  falling,  than  to  erect  one 
when  the  materials  are  yet  in  the  forest ;  and  I  will 
add,  as  a  general  remark,  that  I  do  think  the  stand- 
ard of  ministerial  excellence  should  be  higher  than 
it  now  is.  In  Texas,  the  people  will  not  come  out 
on  week-days,  and  not  very  well  on  Sabbath-days, 
unless  they  think  the  preacher  is  "  worth  hearing." 

There  is  a  very  flourishing  and  admirably  con- 
ducted Sabbath-school  in  Austin.  The  superintend- 
ent and  teachers  are  of  high  character,  and  deserve 
great  credit.  They  have  a  certain  spice  of  enthu- 
siasm, which  all  must  have  in  every  pursuit,  if  they 
would  be  greatly  successful.  The  meeting  in  Austin 
was  a  good  one,  and  I  suppose  would  have  been  more 
so,  had  it  not  been  for  a  feverish  state  of  excitement 
amongst  the  people,  occasioned  by  frequent  accounts 
of  Indian  murders  and  depredations. 

Leaving  the  beautiful  town  of  Austin,  I  turned 
my  face  towards  Victoria,  where  I  hoped,  on  the  first 
Sabbath  in  November,  to  have  the  pleasure  of  meet- 
ing brother  Cocke,  of  Lavaca,  and  other  brethren  on 
their  way  to  Presbytery.  After  receiving  some  touch- 
ing proofs  of  the  kind  regards  of  the  good  people  of 
Austin,  on  Monday  I  rode  to  Webber's  Prairie,  on 
the  Colorado,  sixteen  miles  distant ;  and  sending  out 
runners  to  give  due  notice,  I  preached  that  night  in 
the  house  of  a  friend.  I  thought  we  might  have 
about  twenty  persons  present,  when,  lo!  there  were 
some  fifty  or  sixty.  O,  when  souls  are  hungry  for  the 
bread  of  life,  how  they  will  flock  to  a  place  where  a 
table  is  spread!  That  night,  I  think,  much  good 
.was  done.     Here  I  was  told  by  "mine  host"  of  an 


352  LIFE  AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

incident  illustrative  of  tlie  heroism  of  Texan  females, 
which  occurred  near  this  place  not  many  years  ago. 

A  party  of  one  hundred  Indians  had  killed  two 
men  working  in  a  field,  and  put  a  third  to  flight. 
In  these  circumstances,  a  young  woman,  scarcely  six- 
teen years  of  age,  undertook  to  protect  her  family. 
Putting  on  a  captain's  uniform,  with  a  cocked  hat, 
she  courageously  walked  out  of  her  house,  and  beck- 
oned to  the  Indians  to  come  on,  at  the  same  time 
making  signs  to  those  within  the  house  (only  some 
women  and  children,  and  an  old  man)  to  repress  their 
ardour  and  keep  still.  The  Indians,  supposing  that 
the  brave  captain's  company  were  within,  eager  to 
charge,  thought  it  best  to  withdraw  from  so  dan- 
gerous a  post,  and  they  accordingly  fled !  Certainly 
the  Texan  Congress  should  have  granted  her  a  cap- 
tain's commission  and  pay  for  life. 

From  Webber's  Prairie  I  went  to  Bastrop,  a  plea- 
sant town  on  the  Colorado,  of  four  hundred  in- 
habitants, famous  for  its  neighbouring  pine  forests 
and  saw-mills.  Here  I  was  cordially  received  and 
kindly  entertained  by  a  Christian  brother,  who  had 
been  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  but  now 
of  the  Cumberland  order,  because  no  church  of  our 
communion  existed  there.  This  brother  very  indus- 
triously circulated  a  notice  that  I  would  preach  at 
night ;  I  did  so.  The  church  was  well  filled ;  a  more 
attentive  audience  I  could  not  wish  to  see;  and  I 
think  a  good  impression  was  made,  for  I  was  earn- 
estly requested  to  remain  and  preach  until  over  the 
Sabbath.  This  not  falling  in  with  my  arrangements, 
I  declined;  and  the  next  day,  riding  forty  miles,  I 
reached  Lagrange,  in  time  to  send  runners  around, 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  353 

and  preached  at  night.  Here  I  was  kindly  enter- 
tained by  Dr.  Townsend,  who  had  been  a  ruling 
elder  of  our  church  in  one  of  the  blessed  old  States. 
He  insisted  upon  my  spending  the  Sabbath  in  this 
town  (rather  larger  and  more  flourishing  than  Bas- 
trop) ;  I  consented,  and  preached  in  the  court-house 
some  eight  or  ten  sermons,  chiefly  at  night.  Much 
interest  was  manifested  here,  and  I  was  told  that 
they  had  scarcely  ever  seen  such  full  houses  in  that 
town  before ;  and  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  mention 
that  one  gentleman  went,  as  I  was  informed,  to  every 
tippling  house  in  the  place,  and  oflered  each  rum- 
seller  a  dollar  for  every  evening  he  would  close  his 
shop  and  go  to  church. 

Understanding  that  the  distinctive  doctrines  of  our 
communion  were  sadly  misapprehended  in  this  re- 
gion, I  preached,  by  appointment,  a  long  doctrinal 
sermon  to  a  large  and  deeply  attentive  audience,  and 
have  good  reason  to  believe  that  many  prejudices 
were  happily  removed,  and  that  much  good  was  here 
done  in  various  ways.  I  organized  a  church  here — 
consisting,  it  is  true,  of  only  five  members — but 
there  is  an  encouraging  prospect  for  a  considerable 
increase,  particularly  if  the  Board  could,  at  some 
early  period,  send  them  a  man  of  the  right  stamp; 
for  such  a  one,  it  was  thought  that  four  hundred  dol- 
lars could  be  raised  in  Lagrange  alone. 

Leaving  town  on  Tuesday  morning,  I  set  out  for 
Col.  Turner's  settlement  on  the  Navidad.  A  gentle- 
man of  wealth,  and  supposed  to  be  rather  an  infidel 
in  his  sentiments,  residing  here,  had  heard  me  preach 
at  Lidian  Point  some  three  months  before,  and  was 
so  much  interested  that  he  requested  me,  in  a  pecu- 
30* 


354  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

liaiiy  earnest  manner,  to  visit  his  neighbourhood. 
Whilst  wending  my  way  to  the  residence  of  this  gen- 
tleman, about  eight  miles  from  his  house  I  fell  in 
with  a  farmer  in  good  circumstances,  who  was  going 
home,  and  lived  not  so  far  distant.  Learning  from 
me  that  I  was  a  missionary  in  the  service  of  our 
Board,  he  told  me  that  he  was  a  Presbyterian  him- 
self, but  had  not  heard  a  Presbyterian  for  eighteen 
years.  As  the  day  was  far  spent,  I  proposed  preach- 
ing at  his  house  that  night.  He  was  greatly  de- 
lighted; and  although  he  had  just  walked  ten  miles, 
he  went  off  the  road,  to  this  house  and  that,  inviting 
the  neighbours  all  around.  Late  at  night  they  came 
in;  and,  after  a  very  solemn  meeting,  a  gentleman 
and  his  lady  tarried  one  full  hour  for  religious 
conversation.  They  seemed  to  be  thorough-going 
Christians  and  Presbyterians,  both  in  feeling  and 
sentiment,  and  greatly  desired  that  kind  of  preach- 
ing to  which  they  had  been  accustomed  in  days  gone 
by.  When  informed  that  I  had  just  organized  a 
church  in  Lagrange,  they  seemed  to  be  much  pleased, 
and  spoke  of  having  their  names  enrolled,  although 
thirty  miles  distant. 

The  next  day  I  reached  the  residence  of  the  gen- 
tleman who  had  invited  me  into  this  region  of  coun- 
try, and  very  cordial  was  the  reception  which  both 
he  and  his  lady  gave  me,  and  almost  incredible  were 
the  efforts  made  by  him  to  circulate  the  appointment 
for  preaching  at  night.  When  the  time  arrived,  the 
room  was  nearly  filled  with  men,  whilst  many  of 
Africa's  sable  sons  and  daughters  were  gathered 
about  the  door.  Seed  was  sown  that  night,  which, 
I  verily  believe,  will  yield  good  fruit,  sooner  or  later. 


REV.   DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  355 

Judging  from  a  scene  which  took  place  next  morning 
in  the  house  of  my  friend,  I  hope  to  meet  both  him- 
self and  lady  in  heaven.  Before  parting,  he  told  me 
that  he  would  subscribe  liberally  for  the  support  of 
a  Presbyterian  preacher  in  his  neighbourhood;  and 
when  I  finally  gave  him  my  hand,  and  bade  him 
adieu,  he  was  almost  convulsed.  His  wife  also,  not 
a  professor,  seemed  to  be  as  painfully  wrought  upon 
as  her  husband.  How  rejoiced  was  I,  that  I  was 
permitted  to  preach  at  least  one  sermon  in  that 
destitute  region,  and  to  have  one  precious  oppor- 
tunity for  religious  conversation  and  prayer  with 
that  interesting  family. 

Journeying  on  towards  Victoria,  I  preached  "the 
next  night  at  a  little  village  called  Petersburg.  As 
it  was  raining  when  I  reached  the  place,  I  had  no 
idea  of  preaching  there  or  anywhere  else  that  night  ; 
but  stopping  at  a  store  to  inquire  about  a  person 
who  lived  a  few  miles  distant,  I  was  recognized, 
and  earnestly  requested  to  tarry  and  preach  there 
that  night.  Of  course  I  consented;  and,  dark  and 
rainy  as  it  was,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  preaching  to 
nearly  all  the  people  in  the  place.  We  had  even  two 
or  three  E,oman  Catholics  present,  and  a  priest! 
And  equally  strange  to  tell,  the  individual  who  was 
most  active  in  "getting  up"  the  meeting,  and  who 
clerked  it  for  me,  was,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  in  the  habit 
of  dealing  out  death  by  the  half-pint !  But  he  has 
a  pious  mother,  if  I  mistake  not,  and  his  conscience 
was  evidently  not  at  rest. 

On  Friday  evening  I  reached  the  house  of  a  friend 
near  Victoria,  and  scarcely  was  I  safely  housed,  when 
there  came  up  a  regular  Norther^  such  as  I  had  never 


356  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

known  before;  the  wind  blew  with  great  violence. 
It  rained  also,  and  in  thirty  minutes  I  suppose  the 
thermometer  fell  thirty  degrees.  These  northers  are, 
I  believe,  peculiar  to  Texas.  They  usually  last  from 
one  to  three  days.  When  coming  on,  the  cattle  in 
the  prairies  seem  terrified,  and  hasten  into  the  tim- 
bered bottoms,  where  they  find  a  safe  retreat.  The 
northers,  however,  that  are  violent,  are  not  frequent, 
and  when  over,  we  have  the  clear  blue  sky,  and 
every  thing  is  as  pleasant  as  spring. 

On  the  morning  after  the  norther  just  mentioned, 
the  banks  of  the  Guadaloupe  were  strewed  with 
pecan  nuts,  and  many  persons,  male  and  female,  old 
and  young,  went  out  to  gather  them.  For  the 
novelty  of  the  thing,  I  went  myself,  and  in  a  few 
hours  gathered  two  pecks  or  more.  Some  dear  little 
children  whom  I  had  addressed  when  in  Victoria 
w^ere  eager  to  fill  my  sack.  The  pecan  crop,  once  in 
three  years,  is  a  great  affair  in  Texas.  It  is  consid- 
ered equal  to  the  cotton  crop,  for  one  hand  can 
gather  from  one  to  three  bushels  a  day,  and  the 
picking  season  lasts  from  six  to  eight  weeks.  It  is 
estimated  that  this  year  fifty  thousand  bushels  of 
pecans  will  be  exported  from  the  Guadaloupe  alone. 
So  then,  if  the  heavens  do  not  rain  manna  in  Texas, 
many  of  the  trees  of  the  forest  shower  down  nuts 
which  bring  more  than  a  dollar  a  bushel  on  the  spot 
— certainly  a  kind  provision,  at  least  for  the  poor. 
On  the  next  day,  being  the  Sabbath,  I  preached 
three  times  in  Victoria,  to  comparatively  small  con- 
gregations, as  the  notice  was  very  limited,  and  many 
of  the  people  were  out  pccanning. 

Sadly  disappointed  in  not  meeting  the  brethren  of 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  357 

the  Presbytery  here,  "svith  whom  I  greatly  desired  to 
confer  in  relation  to  the  spiritual  affairs  of  this  young 
and  growing  State,  I  left  Victoria  on  Monday  for 
Texana,  a  small  town  on  the  La  Baca,  and  preached 
there  that  night  to  every  person  in  the  village,  as  I 
was  told,  except  two  or  three,  who  were  not  well. 
I  was  urged  to  remain  and  preach  several  days,  but 
thought  it  best  to  pass  on,  wending  my  way  towards 
Wharton,  on  the  Colorado,  and  Columbia,  on  the 
Brazos. 

As  I  was  passing  through  a  wide,  wild,  and  track- 
less prairie,  I  lost  my  landmarks,  and  night  coming 
on,  I  had,  unarmed,  to  camp  out,  solitary  and  alone, 
on  the  edge  of  a  strip  of  timber  fringing  Jones' 
Creek.  Kindling  a  fire  at  the  foot  of  a  tree,  and, 
taking  my  saddle-blanket  for  my  bed,  my  saddle  for 
my  pillow,  and  my  umbrella  for  my  pavilion,  I 
quietly  laid  me  down,  and  thought  about  Jacob  at 
Bethel,  when,  journeying  to  Padan-Aram,  he  laid 
himself  down  to  sleep,  and  dreamed  about  the  ladder 
set  upon  the  earth,  and  whose  top  reached  unto 
heaven.  Jacob  slept,  and  dreamed  a  pleasant  dream; 
but  there  was  no  sleep,  nor  pleasant  dream  for  me — 
for  just  as  I  was  endeavouring  to  compose  myself  to 
sleep,  suddenly  the  wolves  and  panthers  began  a 
serenade,  which  grated  horribly  upon  my  ear.  Seiz- 
ing a  firebrand,  and  now  wide  awake,  I  rushed 
towards  the  place  w^hence  these  unwelcome  sounds 
proceeded,  and  making  all  manner  of  outrageous 
noises,  I  did  what  I  could  to  drive  my  uninvited 
serenaders  far  away.  In  this  I  partially  succeeded; 
but  did  not  think  it  prudent  to  sleep,  as  the  howling 
of  the  wolf  and  the  cry  of  the  panther  were  heard 


358  LIFE  AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

at  intervals  during  the  whole  livelong  night;  and 
there  was  danger,  particularly  of  the  panthers  spring- 
ing upon  me  when  defenceless  and  unprotected  upon 
the  ground. 

Truly  that  was  a  long  and  dismal  night  to  me; 
especially  as  towards  morning  it  began  to  cloud  up 
and  threaten  to  rain.  A  few  drops  fell,  but  happily 
for  me,  with  the  shades  of  the  night  passed  away  also 
the  clouds  from  the  face  of  the  sky;  and  the  next 
morning,  early  enough,  the  supperless  missionary, 
taking  down  his  pavilion,  and  rising  from  his  couch, 
resumed  his  cheerless  and  lonely  way ;  and  now  came 
a  dark,  dark  time  indeed.  True,  the  sun  was  shining 
brightly,  and  many  deer,  as  yet  unacquainted  with 
man,  were  bounding  merrily  and  gracefully  on  every 
hand;  but  bewildered  in  the  wild  and  trackless 
prairie,  I  was  lost,  lost^  lost! 

After  wandering  about  in  every  direction,  myself 
and  horse  without  water  for  some  thirty  hours,  I 
began  seriously  to  think  that  I  should  at  last  have 
to  lie  do^vn  and  die  in  this  untravelled  wilderness, 
far  away  from  my  family  and  the  habitation  of  man, 
without  a  friend  to  close  my  eyes,  or  dig  my  grave ! 
The  idea  of  dying  in  this  lonely  place,  and  then  being 
devoured  by  wolves  and  panthers,  I  confess  was  very 
dismal  to  me.  But,  God  be  thanked,  whilst  I  was 
thus  bewildered  and  lost,  and  knew  not  what  to 
do — whilst  despair  was  every  moment  deepening  its 
gloom  around  me — having  turned  in  another  direc- 
tion, and  nearly  the  opposite  of  that  in  which  I  was 
going,  I  saw  in  the  distance  a  white  flag  waving  upon 
a  pole,  to  mark  the  entrance  of  a  foot-path  into  the 
timbered  bottoms  of  the  Colorado.     O,  that  flag! — 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  359 

that  beautiful  white  flag !  I  thought  it  was  the  pret- 
tiest thing  I  had  ever  seen  in  all  my  life.  My  heart 
leaped  for  joy,  and  I  was  ready  to  exclaim  aloud, 
Blessings  upon  the  man  who  put  it  there!  It  made 
me  think  very  sweetly  about  the  Star  of  Bethlehem; 
that  blessed  and  only  star  of  hope  to  a  dying  world. 
Certainly  I  shall  not  forget  this  matter,  when,  in  the 
sacred  desk,  I  shall  speak  of  the  cross  of  Christ, 
which  marks  out  to  sinners,  bewildered  and  lost, 
their  only  pathway  to  heaven. 

Having  at  last  found  the  much  desired  way  to  the 
place  of  my  destination,  and  having  gone  four  miles 
through  the  heavily-timbered  and  vine-clad  bottoms 
of  the  Colorado,  I  came  to  the  river,  but  there  was 
no  ferry  there.  After  calling  and  waiting  a  long 
time,  a  man  finally  appeared  on  the  other  side,  and 
pointed  to  a  certain  place  where  the  river,  though 
deep,  might  be  forded.  Plunging  into  the  stream,  I 
passed  safely  over,  but  not  without  becoming  very 
wet. 

On  reaching  Wharton  I  changed  my  clothes,  and 
got  some  refreshment.  I  would  then  gladly  have 
preached,  but  the  only  place  in  which  an  audience 
could  be  assembled  was  already  engaged  for  a 
dancing  party. 

In  the  course  of  his  labours  among  all  classes  of 
persons,  in  all  sections  of  the  land,  incidents  would 
often  occur  not  at  all  common  in  the  even  life  of  the 
city  pastor.  On  one  occasion,  while  describing,  in 
the  course  of  a  sermon,  the  exceeding  sinfulness  of 
the  impenitent,  a  backwoods  hearer  arose  and  with- 
drew, with  a  long,  shrill  whistle  of  utter  incredulity. 


360  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

In  the  midst  of  a  sermon  on  another  occasion,  the 
fixed  and  solemn  attention  of  the  congregation  ^yas 
broken  by  a  yawn  so  long  and  loud  as  to  make 
the  rafters  ring.  Promptly  and  severely  was  the 
ya'wner  rebuked  by  the  speaker.  He  proved  to  be 
a  preacher  of  another  denomination  settled  in  the 
place,  who  took  this  method  of  showing  his  opinion 
of  the  preacher. 

Coming  down  from  the  pulpit,  after  an  earnest 
address  to  professors  of  religion,  in  another  place, 
a  white  haired  man  pressed  forward  and  shook 
him  long  and  cordially  by  the  hand.  "You  trust 
that  you  are  a  Christian  ]"  said  Dr.  Baker — but,  as 
he  spoke,  an  unmistakeable  odour  from  the  lips  of 
the  man  himself  answered  the  question  in  the  nega- 
tive. "  Trust  that  I  am  a  Christian  1"  replied  the 
man — '^  trust,  sir'? — I  know  that  I  am." 

It  illustrates,  too,  the  diversified  experience  of  the 
subject  of  this  volume,  that  once  on  a  Sabbath  morn- 
ing, standing  in  his  pulpit  as  pastor  of  a  church,  he 
felt  compelled  by  conscience  to  enter  his  solemn 
protest  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel  against  a  certain 
measure  to  which  the  dominant  political  party  of  the 
State  stood  pledged,  many  of  whom  were  members  of 
the  church  seated  before  him  at  the  moment.  The 
protest  was  made  on  purely  moral  grounds,  and  so 
satisfied  were  all  with  the  sincere  conviction  of  the 
speaker,  that,  so  flxr  as  is  known,  no  one  was  alien- 
ated from  the  pastor,  nor  scarce  a  murmur  uttered. 

Very  rarely  indeed  did  he  ever  come  in  collision 
with  any  one — upon  not  more  than  one  or  two  occa- 
sions in  his  whole  life.  He  had  perhaps  almost  too 
great  a  care,  and  even  anxietv,  to  be  on  terms  of 


REV.    DANIEL    BAKER,    D.  D.  361 

peace,  and  more  than  peace,  with  those  whose  wrong- 
headed  stubbornness  and  malignant  disposition  were 
well  calculated  to  provoke  the  most  patient  beyond 
endurance.  Only  after  every  possible  manner  of  con- 
ciliation was  exhausted,  would  he  desist  from  the 
effort  to  be  "  at  peace  with  all  men,"  even  such  as 
these.  On  one  such  occasion,  when,  in  hatred  to  his 
doctrinal  belief  as  a  minister  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  a  grievous  wrong  was  done  him,  in  vain 
were  retaliatory  measures  urged  upon  him.  After 
employing  every  mode  of  settling  the  matter,  un- 
ruffled from  first  to  last,  he  was  forced  to  yield  a 
manifest  right,  saying  as  he  did  so  to  his  exasperated 
friends,  "Never  mind;  only  let  us  carefully  do  what 
is  right,  and  leave  results  to  God.  Mark  my  word, 
he  will  sooner  or  later  vindicate  us  in  the  matter." 
Not  many  months  had  passed  before  his  words  were 
most  remarkably  made  good. 

It  is  not  known  that  any  one  ever  accused  him,  in 
thought  even,  of  a  desire  to  domineer,  or  to  force 
through  any  measure  against  the  wishes  of  others. 
At  the  same  time,  when  satisfied  of  the  importance 
of  a  measure,  he  embarked  himself  in  it  heart  and 
soul,  ''suaviter  in  modo,  fortiter  in  ?'^."  When  any 
church  court  met  in  his  own  church,  he  invited 
those  brethren  to  preach,  and  those  only,  whose 
labours  he  thought  would  be  attended  with  good  to 
the  people.  In  Synod  and  Presbytery,  he  strongly 
reprobated  sacrificing  the  good  of  the  people  to  the 
personal  feelings  of  any  minister;  he  even  obtained 
the  passage  of  a  resolution  in  one  Synod,  directing 
the  minister  of  any  church  in  which  the  judicatory 
was  to  be  held,  to  write  beforehand  to  such  brethren, 
31 


362  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF   THE 

among  those  who  were  to  be  present,  as  the  pastor 
thought  best  adapted  to  do  good,  informmg  them  of 
the  fact,  and  urging  them  to  come  to  the  place  of 
meeting  specially  prepared  for  what  he  regarded  as — 
especially  in  a  frontier  field — the  most  important 
part  of  a  ministerial  convocation,  namely,  the  reli- 
gious services. 

It  was  the  habitual  practice  of  Dr.  Baker  to  urge 
the  salvation  of  the  soul  upon  men  wherever  and 
whenever  it  was  possible.  He  was  peculiarly  happy 
in  never  doing  this  in  such  a  way,  or  at  such  a  time, 
as  to  defeat  his  object;  yet  in  the  parlour  and  along 
the  roadside,  no  one,  white  or  black,  male  or  female, 
young  or  old,  ever  gave  him  the  least  opportunity  to 
say  a  word  on  the  subject  of  religion  that  he  did  not 
improve ;  and  in  such  a  manner  as  never  to  offend, 
but  often  to  do  good. 

Riding  in  a  stage  with  a  young  man  who  was 
very  profane,  he  rebuked  him  for  his  sin.  The  stage 
arrived  at  its  destination,  Baltimore,  and  the  passen- 
gers dispersed  over  the  city.  A  night  or  two  after, 
walking  along  the  streets.  Dr.  Baker  and  the  young 
man  came  suddenly  face  to  face  upon  each  other, 
under  a  street  lamp.  Instantly  seizing  his  hand,  the 
young  man  thanked  him  for  the  reproof;  told  him 
of  a  pious  mother,  whose  prayers  and  entreaties  he 
had  hitherto  neglected,  and  solemnly  promised  never 
again  to  utter  an  oath.  Are  not  Christians  guilty  in 
not,  at  least,  attempting  to  do  good  wherever  they 
may  be,  and  even  where  the  prospects  of  success 
are  discouraging. 

Once,  when  in  a  town  far  west  of  the  Mississippi 
river,  Dr.  Baker  mingled  with  a  crowd  of  persons 


REY.   DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  363 

pressing  around  the  desk  of  a  stage  agent  to  obtain 
seats  in  the  stage.  In  his  turn  he  announced  his 
name,  extending  his  hand  at  the  same  time  with  the 
money  for  his  seat.  But  liis  arm  is  grasped  from 
behind — "  No  sir,  no  sir,"  exclaims  a  voice,  "  I  must 
pay  that  bill;"  and  it  was  paid  by  a  strange  gentle- 
man, who  then  led  Dr.  Baker  aside.     "More  than 

twenty  years  ago,  at  a  meeting  in  ,  you  were 

made  the  means,"  said  the  stranger,  with  tears  in  his 
eyes,  "of  leading  me  to  Christ.  The  paying  that 
bill  for  you  is  the  least  I  can  do  to  show  my  feelings 
towards  you." 

Events  similar  to  this  were  of  continual  occur- 
rence. Travel  where  he  would,  he  was  rejoiced 
not  only  by  the  present  blessing  of  God  upon  his 
labours,  but  also  by  new  assurances  of  that  blessing 
having  attended  his  labours  in  days  long  gone  by. 
A  youth  sent  to  guide  him  to  the  place  of  worship, 
accidentally  meeting  the  writer  forty  years  after,  told 
him  of  the  urgency  with  which  Dr.  Baker  had 
entreated  him  to  attend  to  the  greatest  of  all  con- 
cerns. The  very  child  that  nestled  for  an  instant  on 
his  knee,  the  maid-servant  entering  his  room  with 
a  pitcher  of  water,  the  hostler  who  held  his  stirrup 
as  he  mounted  his  horse,  in  receiving  other  tokens 
of  his  interest,  never  failed  also  to  hear  a  word  in 
season  in  regard  to  that  great  salvation  which  occu- 
pied all  his  soul,  and  which  he  yearned  to  make 
known  to  every  human  being. 

It  need  not  be  added  that  he  never  declined  to 
preach  on  a  single  occasion  where  it  was  in  the 
bounds  of  possibiUty  to  do  so ;  and  he  would  rebuke 
affectionately  any  brother  whom  he  saw  decHne,  or 


364  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

even  hesitate,  to  preach,  when  an  opportunity  pre- 
sented. It  was  his  invariable  custom  in  travelling 
to  preach  every  night  wherever  he  might  happen  to 
stop,  if  even  the  smallest  congregation  could  be  got 
together;  or,  if  this  was  impossible,  he  would  hold 
family  worship  at  least,  adapting  the  services  to  im- 
press the  minds  of  all  who  took  part. 

In  arriving  toward  night  at  a  village  in  which 
there  was  no  Presbyterian  church,  and  in  which  he 
had  no  acquaintance,  he  would  obtain  the  use  of 
whatever  public  building  was  in  the  place,  and  hire 
some  one  to  go  around  with  the  information  that 
there  would  be  preaching  there  that  night.  Where 
no  one  could  be  obtained  to  do  this,  he  would  do  it 
himself;  the  weariness  of  a  long  day's  ride  was  for- 
gotten in  the  hope  of  leading  some  sinner  to  his 
Saviour,  or  of  reviving  the  piety  of  some  child  of 
God.  If  it  was  necessary,  he  would  himself  purchase 
candles,  and  light  the  place  of  worship;  even  ham- 
mer upon  the  triangle,  often  used  in  frontier  towns 
as  a  bell,  or  pull  the  rope  by  which  the  court-house 
or  school-house  beU  was  rung.  As  the  sounds  of  the 
triangle  or  bell  were  heard,  the  people  would  flock  to 
the  place,  some  from  curiosity  to  hear  the  preacher, 
but  most  of  the  congregation  entirely  ignorant,  until 
the  services  were  actually  begun,  whether  the  person 
who  stood  before  them  was  a  lecturer  upon  phre- 
nology, animal  magnetism,  mesmerism,  temperance, 
or  a  candidate  about  to  make  a  stump  speech;  or  if 
a  preacher,  whether  he  was  evangelical,  Universalist, 
Campbellite,  or  Mormon.  The  first  service,  however, 
never  failed  to  bring  forth,  often  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  the  whole  village,  before  ignorant  of  the 


REY.  DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  365 

fact,  some  latent  Presbyterian,  or  Christian  of  some 
other  denomination,  or  a*friencl,  at  least,  of  religion. 
From  some  such  beginnings  interesting  meetings 
would  often  result.  The  preacher  would  enter  the 
place  unknown;  he  would  leave  it  to  be  remembered, 
perhaps,  by  every  person  in  the  community,  with 
esteem,  and,  mostly,  with  veneration  and  love,  to  the 
end  of  their  days.  On  one  such  occasion  he  had 
gathered  a  congregation  in  the  little  log-cabin  which 
was  erected  in  the  centre  of  the  square,  and  served 
for  every  public  use.  The  room  was  crowded  with 
hearers,  and  more  continually  coming.*  In  the  open- 
ing of  his  discourse,  the  preacher  perceives  that 
many  are  collecting  outside,  unable  to  enter.  The 
clapboard  door  can  be  only  partly  opened — but  all 
must  hear — shall  hear!  Pausing  in  his  discourse, 
he  requests  "  some  gentleman  present  to  remove  the 
door  from  its  hinges."  There  is  a  moment's  hesita- 
tion, and  the  request  is  repeated,  with  the  reason  for 
it.  Six  or  eight  of  the  strongest  spring  forward,  lift 
the  ponderous  door  from  its  hinges,  lay  it  out  of  the 
way  outside,  and  the  services  are  resumed  with  re- 
doubled interest  on  the  part  of  the  preacher  and  of 
the  audience  within  and  without. 

Arriving,  in  the  course  of  his  missionary  labours, 
at  an  intelligent  and  flourishing  village  in  the  West, 
by  invitation  he  began  a  series  of  meetings  in  the 
court-house,  used  in  common  as  a  place  of  worship 
for  all  denominations.  Many  attended  from  a  con- 
siderable distance,  for  in  this,  as  in  every  place  visited 
by  him,  there  were  some  who  had  known  him,  or 
heard  of  him,  who  had  made  his  arrival  widely 
known.  At  one  of  the  hours  appointed  for  wor 
31* 


366  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

ship,  a  minister  of  another  denomination  insisted  on 
preaching  to  the  congregtition  assembled  to  hear 
Dr.  Baker.  From  first  to  last  the  sermon  was  a  vio- 
lent attack  upon  a  doctrine  held  dear  to  all  branches 
of  the  Church  of  Christ,  save  the  Ishmaelitish  one  to 
which  the  intruding  minister  belonged.  Upon  this 
doctrine  he  exhausted  his  whole  stock — a  large  one — 
of  ridicule  and  abuse.  At  the  close  of  his  sermon, 
the  speaker,  breathless  from  exertion,  waves  his 
hand  to  Dr.  Baker  to  lead  in  prayer,  who  declines. 
Nothing  daunted,  the  speaker  offers  prayer  himself; 
then  coolly  gives  notice  that  he  will  preach  in  the 
same  place  at  the  next  hour  of  worship.  Dr.  Baker 
rises,  not  in  the  least  embarrassed,  and  remarks  that 
he  is  under  the  impression  that  the  congregation 
which  crowds  the  room  would  prefer  that  he  should 
preach  at  the  hour  specified.  It  is  perfectly  easy, 
however,  he  remarks,  for  the  congregation  to  correct 
him  if  he  is  mistaken,  and  settle  the  question  on  the 
spot.  "All  present,"  he  exclaims,  "who  prefer  that 
I  should  preach  at  the  hour  specified,  will  please 
rise."  Instantly,  the  whole  congregation,  appa- 
rently, were  upon  their  feet.  Requesting  them  to 
be  seated,  he  then  says,  "All  who  prefer  that  this 
brother  should  preach,  will  please  to  rise."  But 
one  or  two  persons,  ardent  zealots  of  the  peculiar 
vicAvs  of  the  other  preacher,  arose.  "Very  well," 
says  Dr.  Baker,  "we  have  decided  this  matter  in  a 
way  which  is  always  final  with  Americans.  Provi- 
dence permitting,  I  will  preach  in  this  place  at  the 
time  mentioned.  Ileceive  the  benediction."  And 
so  the  congregation  was  dismissed. 

In  this  connection  it  is  well  to  remark,  that  Dr. 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  367 

Baker  had  what  are  called  "peculiarities."  These 
were  only  the  carrying  out,  in  daily  life,  of  certain 
principles  which  were  occasionally  uttered  by  him  as 
maxims,  or  rather  as  axioms.  Thus  he  would  often 
say,  "  Nothing  is  disgraceful  but  sin."  He  gave  this 
as  his  sufficient  reason  when,  on  returning  to  his 
residence  one  evening  while  pastor  of  a  city  church, 
he  found  lying  near  his  door,  upon  the  sidewalk,  an 
intoxicated  countryman,  and  assisted  his  servant  in 
carrying  him  into  the  house,  rather  than  have  him 
sleep  all  night  upon  the  stones.  The  intoxicated 
man  spent  the  night  on  a  pallet  made  for  him,  but 
was  up  and  gone  before  morning,  carrying  with  him 
from  the  minister's  house  a  sermon,  so  to  speak, 
which  he  would  never  forget. 

If  in  his  walks  along  the  streets  he  saw  any  thing 
which  he  desired  for  himself  or  family,  on  purchasing 
it  he  would  bring  it  home  himself  if  possible,  having 
none  of  that  little  pride  which  is  so  common  in 
such  matters.  The  writer  has  seen  him  returning 
home  bearing  in  his  hands  a  huge  house-broom;  or, 
riding  up  to  the  door  on  horseback,  with  a  large 
rocking-chair  on  the  saddle  before  him,  which  he 
had  bought,  as  a  present  to  a  member  of  his  family, 
and,  as  usual,  was  impatient  to  bestow.  Nothing 
pleased  him  more  than  to  lay  off  his  coat,  and  labour 
in  his  garden  or  field,  whenever  his  duties  would 
permit. 

Not  long  before  his  death,  when  President  of 
Austin  College,  and  residing  in  Huntsville,  where 
this  institution  is  located,  it  struck  him  as  being  very 
desirable  to  have  a  sidewalk  made  from  the  town 
square  to  the  College  building,  which  is  upon  an 


368  LIFE  AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

eminence  some  half  a  mile  off.  Drawing  up  a 
subscription-paper,  and  subscribing  liberally  himself, 
he  ceased  not  until  he  had  obtained  the  amount 
needed.  The  next  thing  was  to  obtain  a  contractor 
to  do  the  work;  but  owing  to  the  nature  of  the  soil, 
the  task  was  an  almost  impossible  one,  and  no  con- 
tractor coidd  readily  be  obtained.  Nothing  daunted, 
he  took  the  job  himself,  employed  hands,  and  super- 
intended the  work,  with  his  coat  off,  until  it  was 
thoroughly  completed.  To  bridge  a  wet  chasm,  two 
full  length  trees  were  required ;  the  person  who  was 
to  have  them  on  the  spot  at  an  appointed  time, 
failing  to  be  prompt,  Dr.  Baker  instantly  procured 
the  necessary  team  of  oxen,  repaired  with  help  to 
the  forest,  and  soon  had  the  ponderous  logs  in  their 
place.  While  hard  at  work  with  hoe  and  axe — 
labouring,  as  he  did  with  all  his  might,  in  whatso- 
ever his  hands  found  to  do,  at  all  times — a  brother 
minister  passing  by,  reined  in  his  horse,  with  feelings 
greatly  shocked  at  seeing  the  Doctor  of  Divinity  and 
President  of  the  College  so  occupied.  "My  dear 
sir,"  he  exclaimed,  "  I  beg  you  will  let  the  servants 
do  that."  "  They  do  not  know  how,"  answered  Dr. 
Baker.  "But  many  persons  do  not  like  to  see  you 
thus  employed;  they  do  not  think  it  proper."  "Very 
well,"  replied  the  busy  workman,  never  pausing  from 
his  toil,  "you  tell  them,  my  dear  brother,  to  mind 
their  business,  and  I  will  attend  to  mine."  In  all 
things,  without  the  least  departure  from  the  inherent 
dignity  of  character  which  was  inseparable  from  the 
man,  he  acted  out  his  belief  that  nothing  but  sin 
disi^races  one. 

"Do  good  on  a  large  scale,  on  a  small  scale,  on 


REV.   DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  369 

any  scale."  This  was  a  maxim  frequently  on  his 
lips,  and  repeated  often  in  his  letters  to  his  children; 
aiid  he  himself  endeavoured  to  practise  it,  as  every 
other  precept  inculcated  by  him.  If  an  obstacle  lay 
in  his  path  as  he  walked,  he  would  stop  and  remove 
it,  for  the  benefit  of  the  next  comer.  Even  in  driving 
his  vehicle  along  the  road,  after  safely  passing  over 
some  limb  fallen  from  a  tree,  or  rock  in  the  way,  if 
his  time  and  strength  would  permit,  he  would  alight 
and  roll  the  obstruction  aside.  To  glorify  God  by 
being  useful  to  his  fellow  creatures  was  the  one 
desire  and  object  of  his  life;  and  he  gave  himself  up 
to  preaching  the  gospel,  because  he  could,  called  as 
he  was  to  this  work,  be  thus  most  useful  to  men — 
never  neglecting,  at  the  same  time,  any  lesser  ways 
of  serving  them  as  opportunity  offered.  The  whole 
doctrine  and  practice  of  religion  with  him  was  sum- 
med up  in  this,  that  he  habitually  endeavoured  to 
be,  "  not  slotliful  in  business,  fervent  in  spirit,  serv- 
ing the  Lord."  He  would  express  himself  even 
strongly  in  regard  to  those  whose  excellence  seemed 
to  consist  merely  in  an  indolent  amiability. 

"A  grain  of  common  sense  is  an  excellent  thing." 
It  was  in  accordance  with  this  maxim  that  he  was 
always  careful  to  prevent,  as  fa^  as  he  could,  every 
thing  calculated  to  distract  the  attention  of  a  congre- 
gation. Smoking  pulpit  lamps,  rattling  windows; 
seats  so  constructed  that  no  one  could  sit  at  ease 
upon  them;  the  place  of  worship  so  near  a  public 
highway  as  to  be  liable  to  distracting  sights  and 
sounds ;  a  disagreeable  echo  in  the  place  of  worship ; 
an  unnecessary  turning  over  of  leaves,  and  making 
whispered  arrangements  in  the  pulpit  after  the  con- 


370  LIFE  AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

gregation  had  assembled;  arranging  the  elements 
of  the  communion  after  the  services  had  begun; 
appointing  the  time  of  worship  at  an  hour  incon- 
venient to  the  hearers;  protracting  services  so  as  to 
weary  those  present — things  of  this  nature,  which, 
by  an  exercise  of  common  sense  could  be  obviated, 
he  would  regard  as  almost  a  device  of  Satan  himself 
to  prevent  good  being  done.  On  the  same  principle 
he  never,  in  his  own  house,  would  protract  the  ser- 
vices of  family  worship  to  an  undue  length,  especially 
in  the  morning;  and  it  was  his  rule  to  omit  them 
altogether  on  those  nights  when  there  was  public 
worship.  Any  thing  which  would  necessarily  dis- 
gust, or  weary,  or  lessen  the  attention  of  one  in  a 
religious  exercise,  he  was  careful  to  avoid. 

A  brother  in  the  ministry,  relating  the  following 
in  regard  to  his  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Baker,  illus- 
trates another  maxim  which  was  often  upon  his 
lips: 

"The  pastor  of  one  of  our  churches  had  heard 
of  his  labours,  and  of  his  wonderful  success  in  his 
Master's  work.  Quick  as  thought,  he  resolved  to 
get  his  assistance  for  a  week  or  two  in  his  own 
church,  if  possible.  An  effort  was  made,  and  the 
time  appointed;  but  when  the  day  set  apart  for  a 
beginning  arrived,  the  rain  was  falling  in  torrents. 
True  to  his  appointment,  however,  the  good  man 
was  seen  driving  up  to  the  pastor's  dwelling.  A 
little  disheartened,  his  first  remark  to  Dr.  B.  was,  'I 
am  truly  sorry,  sir,  that  we  have  such  bad  weather 
for  the  beginning  of  our  meeting.  I  am  fearful  as 
to  the  result.'  With  a  tranquil  smile,  which  I  shall 
never  forget,  he  replied,  as  he  laid  his  hand  on  my 


REY.    DANIEL  BAKER,   D.  D.  871 

shoulder,  'My  dear  brother,  the  clouds  are  in  good 
hands;  let  the  clouds  alone.'  How  much  of  the 
spirit  of  heaven  was  in  that  expression !  Right  sure 
am  I  that  it  will  be  remembered  as  long  as  I  am 
permitted  to  preach  the  gospel.  Rarely  does  a 
cloudy  Sabbath  appear,  and  never  does  it  rain  on  the 
Lord's  day,  without  my  thinking  of  this  well-timed 
and  wise  remark.  Almost  always  do  I  enter  the 
pulpit  with  a  cheerful  heart,  whether  it  rains  or 
shines.  The  clouds  were  in  good  hands,  (adds  this 
brother,)  for  some  forty  persons  were  brought  in 
during  the  meeting  that  followed,  notwithstanding 
the  rain." 

It  need  scarcely  be  remarked  here,  that  his  belief 
was  clear  and  constant  that  the  finger  of  God  was  in 
every  event,  from  the  greatest  down  to  the  very 
least.  This  was  the  secret  of  his  unbroken  cheerful- 
ness under  the  most  mysterious  and  otherwise  dis- 
couraging providences.  "The  Lord  reigns!"  was  the 
sovereign  explanation  of  every  event,  and  perfect 
cure  of  every  ill. 

We  resume  the  narrative. 

On  Friday,  November  10th,  I  reached  Old  or 
West  Columbia,  a  town  near  the  Brazos,  once  of 
some  importance,  but  now  almost  entirely  deserted; 
and  in  the  vicinity,  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Bell,  (a 
mother  in  Israel),  I  met  a  cordial  reception.  There 
was  the  house  where  our  lamented  brother  Hunter 
boarded — there  the  room  in  which  he  slept — there 
the  books  he  was  wont  to  read — and  there  the  table 
upon  which  he  was  wont  to  write  his  eloquent  and 
masterly  sermons.  Even  his  inkstand  was  there,  and 
every  thing  left  untouched,  as  if  the  beloved  pastor 


372  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

had  only  stepped  out,  and  would  return  in  a  short 
time.  How  mysterious,  that  one  so  talented  and  so 
highly  esteemed,  and  so  lately  installed,  should  be  so 
suddenly  snatched  away.  But  methinks  a  voice 
comes  to  this  mourning  people  from  on  high,  and  it 
is  this :  "  Be  still,  and  know  that  I  am  God !" 

On  Sabbath  morning  I  preached  in  brother  Hun- 
ter's church  in  Old  or  West  Columbia,  and  in  the 
afternoon  and  night  in  the  Methodist  church  in  New 
or  East  Columbia.  Considering  the  shortness  of  the 
notice,  and  the  state  of  the  roads  and  weather,  the 
congregation  each  time  was  larger  than  could  have 
reasonably  been  expected.  And  here  I  would  re- 
mark, that  it  was  peculiarly  acceptable  to  the  Pres- 
byterian church  here  that  I  should  pay  them  a  visit 
just  at  this  time.  It  was  soothing  to  their  feelings, 
as  manifesting  a  kind  sympathy  with  them  in  their 
recent  and  sad  bereavement. 

New  or  East  Columbia  is  a  shipping  port,  and  a 
somewhat  flourishing  town  on  the  Brazos,  and  may 
number  about  four  hundred  souls.  On  Monday  I 
rode  to  Brazoria,  twelve  miles  distant,  the  county 
town  of  Brazoria  county,  and  would  have  preached 
there  at  night,  but  as  the  weather  was  unfavourable, 
and  I  saw  no  one  who  seemed  willing  to  put  himself 
to 'much  trouble  to  circulate  the  notice,  I  thought  it 
best  to  return  to  Mrs.  Bell's,  and  preach  to  her  ser- 
vants at  night,  which  I  did ;  and  much  pleased  was  I 
that  this  idea  occurred  to  me,  for  the  meeting  proved 
a  highly  interesting  one;  and  I  think  the  occasion 
will  be  long  and  gratefully  remembered  by  these 
children  of  Ham. 

On  Tuesday  I  set  out  on  my  return  to  Victoria, 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  373 

my  radiating  point,  by  the  way  of  Egypt,  a  set- 
tlement famous  for  corn,  sugar,  and  good  people. 
Rain,  rain,  rain,  all  the  week  rain;  nevertheless,  I 
reached  Egypt,  about  eighty  miles  distant,  in  time  to 
preach  once  on  Saturday,  and  three  times  on  the 
Sabbath.  On  Saturday  few  were  present,  as  few 
knew  any  thing  about  the  appointment;  but  on  the 
Sabbath  the  house  was  crowded,  although  the  day 
was  far  from  being  favourable — the  notice  short  and 
the  sugar  mills  in  full  blast.  Not  that  these  good 
people  desecrated  the  Sabbath — O  no !  to  their  praise 
be  it  spoken,  they  were  always  careful  to  have  their 
fires  quenched  before  twelve  o'clock  on  Saturday 
night,  and  not  kindled  again  until  the  Sabbath  was 
fully  past ;  and  they  have  lost  nothing  by  it ;  for,  if 
I  am  correctly  informed,  all  came  there  poor,  and  all 
are  now  in  good  circumstances.  It  would  be  well  if 
some  sugar-planters  in  other  places  would  profit  by 
their  example. 

Certainly  Texas  is  destined  to  be  a  great  State ; 
and  I  could  wish  that  the  ministers  of  our  denomi- 
nation, and  especially  our  young  men  who  are  pre- 
paring for  the  ministry,  would  think  more  about 
Texas  than  they  do.  True,  there  are  not  many 
"feathered  nests"  there  yet,  but  there  are  what 
should  be  vastly  more  inviting,  wide  fields  of  useful- 
ness. The  destitutions  in  that  young  and  growing 
State  are  many  and  great.  O  that  the  churches  of 
our  beloved  Zion  would  think  upon  these  things, 
and  remember,  that  in  Texas  and  other  frontier 
States,  many  precious  souls  are  hungering  for  the 
bread  of  life;  and  also  remember,  that  the  night 
Cometh  when  no  man  can  work.  Methinks  one  on 
32 


874  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

reading  this  says — "Well,  I  will  give  five  dollars  to 
the  cause  of  domestic  missions;  I  can  give  this 
amount  and  not  feel  it."  Suppose,  my  Christian 
brother,  you  give  twenty^  and  feel  it.  Your  Saviour 
felt  ivhat  he  did  for  you.  A  remark  of  this  kind 
once  heard  from  the  pulpit  thrilled  through  my 
whole  soul,  and  made  me  do  more  than  empty  my 
purse.  I  borrowed  from  a  friend.  The  idea  oi feel- 
ing what  I  gave  was  delightful. 

I  reached  Victoria  at  the  time  expected,  and 
would  have  preached  at  night,  but  the  weather  was 
unfavourable,  and  the  people  still  out  pecanning. 
Although  I  did  not  preach,  I  had  a  conference  with 
some  choice  daughters  of  Zion  here,  who  were  re- 
solved that  the  church  edifice  in  this  town  should 
remain  in  an  unfinished  state  no  longer.  Heaven 
speed  them  in  their  holy  purpose!  One  of  these 
ladies  was  brought  in  under  my  preaching  a  few 
months  before.     Of  woman  it  was  said, 

"  Last  at  his  cross,  and  earliest  at  his  grave;" 

and  I  do  believe,  if  piety  should  take  her  departure 
from  earth,  her  last  resting-place  would  be  a  woman's 
heart.  Just  before  leaving  Victoria  for  Lavaca,  I 
was  informed  that  one  of  the  young  converts  here 
died  the  last  week,  and,  God  be  thanked,  died  hav- 
ing "a  good  hope  through  grace." 

On  Wednesday,  the  22d  of  November,  I  reached 
Port  Lavaca,  and  was  cordially  greeted  by  the  people 
generally.  I  would  have  preached  in  Lavaca,  but 
the  church  was  remote,  not  glazed,  and  the  weather 
bad.  Particularly  anxious  to  preach  one  sermon 
more  at  Indian  Point,  I  got  on  board  of  a  sailing 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  375 

boat  early  in  the  afternoon,  but  being  becalmed  on 
the  bay,  I  did  not  reach  the  town  until  nine  o'clock 
at  night;  I  was  cordially  welcomed  to  the  house  of 
one  of  the  newly-ordained  elders.  The  next  morn- 
ing I  called  upon  a  few  Christian  friends,  and  was 
much  pleased  to  learn  that  the  Sabbath-school  which 
I  had  organized  still  flourished,  and  the  young  con- 
verts are  all  doing  well;  that  the  church  has  been 
regularly  organized  by  brother  Cocke;  and  that 
two  of  those  who  had  professed  religion  during  my 
preaching  in  the  place,  had  been  duly  elected  and 
installed  ruling  elders.  To  crown  my  satisfaction, 
and  fill  up  the  cup  of  my  happiness,  a  highly  respect- 
able gentleman,  a  physician,  who  had  been  awakened 
at  the  meeting  referred  to,  was  on  this  occasion 
enabled,  as  I  hope,  cordially  to  embrace  the  Redeem- 
er, wliilst  I  was  reading  to  him  the  words  of  Christ 
to  Nicodemus,  as  recorded  in  John,  3d  chapter,  from 
the  14th  to  19th  verse  inclusive.  Yes,  whilst  this 
blessed  portion  of  Scripture  was  laid  before  him,  and 
briefly  commented  on,  his  countenance  began  to 
brighten,  and  the  way  of  salvation  opening  with 
divine  clearness  and  beauty  to  his  soul,  he  exclaimed, 
"O,  I  never  had  such  views  of  my  Saviour  before!" 
Immediately  he  hurried  into  another  room  where 
his  wife  was,  and  with  a  glad  heart  told  her  what 
the  Lord  had  done  for  his  soul.  This  case,  and  that 
of  the  gentleman  on  the  Navidad,  have  forcibly 
reminded  me  of  the  words  of  the  poet, 

"Though  seed  lie  buried  long  in  dust, 

It  sha'n't  deceive  our  hope ; 
The  precious  grain  shall  ne'er  be  lost, 
For  grace  insures  the  crop." 


376  LIFE  AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

Taking  my  passage  on  board  of  the  steamer  Yacht, 
I  hoped  to  reach  Galveston  at  least  early  on  the 
morning  of  the  Lord's  day ;  but,  in  consequence  of  a 
strong  head-wind,  we  did  not  reach  that  city  until 
one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  that  day.  Going 
directly  to  the  residence  of  the  pastor,  brother  Hen- 
derson, he  gave  me  a  most  cordial  reception,  and  at 
his  request,  I  preached  in  his  church,  both  in  the 
afternoon  and  at  night.  The  congregation,  however, 
was  not  large  on  either  occasion,  as  curiosity  had 
carried  many  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Cathedral, 
which,  amid  many  pompous  rites  and  "imposing" 
ceremonies,  had  been  consecrated  that  (lay.  How 
any  one,  in  the  shape  of  a  human  being,  can  be 
taken  with  such  things,  I  cannot  tell !  Even  a  little 
child  present,  not  five  years  of  age,  after  observing 
the  marches  and  counter-marches,  and  changing  of 
dresses,  and  tall  candles,  and  little  bells,  and  genu- 
flections, &c.  &c.,  remarked  to  her  mother,  "Ma,  I 
am  tired;  let's  go;  I  don't  like  this  kind  of  circus!" 
Infatuated  ones!  when  will  they  come  back  to  the 
simplicity  of  the  gospel,  and  the  good  sense  of  primi- 
tive times'? 

As  the  first  steamer  which  was  to  leave  Galveston 
for  New  Orleans  was  to  start  on  the  Sabbath,  and  as 
I  was  earnestly  requested  by  brother  H.  and  others 
to  remain  and  wait  the  next  boat,  which  was  to 
leave  on  the  Friday  following,  I  consented;  but,  as 
the  weather  for  the  most  part  proved  very  unfavour- 
able, I  did  not  preach  as  often  as  I  desired.  Some 
of  our  meetings,  however,  were  crowded  and  deeply 
solemn,  and  although  not  more  than  one  or  two 
professed   conversion,  a  goodly   number   were   cvi- 


REV.   DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  377 

dently  much  wrought  upon ;  moreover,  the  people  of 
God  were  much  revived,  and  the  pastor  thinks  that 
much  good  was  done  in  various  ways.  When  the 
period  approached  for  me  to  leave,  I  received  touch- 
ing proofs  of  the  kind  regards  of  the  people  gene- 
rally, and  was  urged  by  the  much-esteemed  pastor 
and  others  to  remain  a  month,  or  at  least  a  week 
longer. 

It  may  not  be  improper  for  me  to  state,  that  here, 
as  well  as  in  several  other  places,  I  endeavoured  to 
present  the  distinctive  -doctrines  of  our  Church,  with 
clearness,  in  all  their  beauty,  and  power,  and  hea- 
venly charms ;  and  such  was  the  effect  produced, 
that  I  was  requested  to  have  one  sermon  in  par- 
ticular published  without  delay ;  and  to  secure  this, 
one  of  the  most  prominent  members  of  the  church 
handed  me  a  piece  of  gold,  and  insisted  upon  paying 
me  in  advance  for  twenty  copies.  Almost  over- 
whelmed -with  the  kindness  of  the  good  people  of 
Galveston,  I  left  this  beautiful  city  in  the  packet 
steamer,  for  New  Orleans,  on  the  8th  December. 

Galveston  is  indeed  a  beautiful  city;  having  broad 
streets,  and  many  handsome  houses,  connected  with 
which  are  gardens-  adorned  with  shrubbery,  and  laid 
oif  with  great  taste.  Every  thing  looks  clean  and 
neat,  and  I  noticed  a  vast  improvement  since  the 
year  1840,  the  period  of  my  first  visit  to  that  place. 
Besides  the  great  Eoman  Catholic  Cathedral,  which 
I  have  mentioned,  the  Methodists,  Baptists,  Presby- 
terians, and  Episcopalians,  have  each  a  neat  church 
edifice,  and  so  also  have  the  German  Methodists. 
The  population,  at  the  present  time,  numbers  about 
five  thousand;  and  although  the  city,  in  its  com- 
32* 


378  LIFE    AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

merce,  has  been  injured  by  annexation,  its  prospects 
are  still  good.  Brother  H.  has  been  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  in  Galveston  for  about  seven 
years;  his  labours  have  been  faithful,  and  greatly 
blessed;  and,  having  lately  received  and  accepted  a 
call  to  the  church  in  Jackson,  Mississippi,  he  wiU 
leave  behind  him  many  friends,  and  a  name  which 
will  be  as  "ointment  poured  forth."  Galveston, 
then,  as  well  as  Columbia,  now^  calls  for  a  new 
pastor.  O  that  God  would  increase  the  number  of 
our  ministers  a  hundred- fold  I  .  The  steamer  in  which 
I  had  embarked  at  Galveston  having  been  detained 
off  the  Bahze  several  hours  by  a  dense  fog,  I  did 
not  reach  the  Crescent  City  until  late  on  Sabbath 
afternoon.  I  preached  one  sermon  on  the  boat,  how- 
ever; and  on  Monday  evening  I  took  another  boat 
for  Memphis,  and  arrived  there  in  time  to  preach 
for  brother  Coons,  of  the  First  Church,  on  Sabbath 
morning.  The  next  day,  being  the  1 8th,  I  had  the 
happiness  of  returning  to  the  bosom  of  my  family, 
and  receiving  the  affectionate  greetings  of  the  be- 
loved people  of  my  late  charge. 

Before  leaving  Texas  I  went,  as  before  remarked, 
to  Galveston,  and  preached  several  sermons,  and 
w^ould  have  preached  more,  but  was  prevented  by 
the  unfavourableness  of  the  weather,  and  a  sHght 
indisposition.  At  this  time,  as  I  have  said,  brother 
Henderson,  pastor  of  the  church,  was  about  leaving, 
having  received  an  invitation  to  the  church  in  Jack- 
son, Mississippi.  I  advised  brother  Henderson  to 
recommend  the  Eev.  S.  F.  Cocke,  of  Lavaca,  to  suc- 
ceed him.  I  returned  to  Holly  Springs,  intending 
to  wind   up   my  affairs,   and  have  my  commission 


REV.  DANIEL    BAKER,  D.  D.  379 

renewed  as  a  missionary  in  Texas.  In  a  few  weeks, 
however,  I  received  an  invitation  to  the  church  in 
Galveston,  for  one  year.  I  accepted,  and  leaving  my 
family  in  HoUy  Springs,  I  went  on  to  Galveston  in 
the  winter  of  18-i8,  expecting  my  family  to  come  on 
in  the  follo^\dng  spring ;  which,  I  tliink,  was  early  in 
April  of  1849. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  Dr.  Baker  received  a 
letter  from  Lafayette  College,  Easton,  Pennsylvania, 
announcing  to  him  that  the  degree  of  D.  D.  had  been 
confeiTed  upon  him  by  that  Institution.  All  his  life 
he  had  great  scruples  in  regard  to  being  "called 
Rabbi"  in  any  form.  Yet  it  occurred  to  him  that 
there  might  be  as  much  ostentation  in  refusing  the 
title  as  in  adopting  it.  He  pursued  a  middle  course ; 
took  no  step  whatever  in  the  matter.  That  he  was 
grateful  to  the  friends  showing  him  this  token  of 
their  kindness,  was  a  matter  of  course;  but  it  is  not 
known  that  he,  by  letter,  accepted,  or  in  any  other 
way  assumed  the  title  thus  conferred. 

Here  it  may  be  remarked  for  the  information  of 
those  who  did  not  know  Dr.  Baker  personally,  that 
he  possessed  a  dignity  of  manner,  and  a  refinement 
of  bearing,  such  as  are  not  jjopularly  ascribed  to  a 
missionaiT  toiling  upon  the  frontier.  The  fact  that 
he  had  passed  his  life — a  large  part  of  it  at  least — 
in  the  most  intelUgent  and  refined  society  in  the 
land,  is  itself  a  guaranty  of  this,  even  if  dignity  and 
refinement  of  manner  had  not  flowed  inevitably  from 
the  depths  of  his  piety.  Those  in  whose  houses  he 
was  a  guest,  will  remember  his  scrupulous  observance 
of  all  the  proprieties  of  life,  in  the  chamber  as  well 


380  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

as  in  the  drawing-room.  He  was  very  impatient  of 
any  breach  of  even  the  minor  courtesies  of  life  on 
the  part  of  ministers ;  and  if  the  minister  thus  guilty 
was  young,  he  failed  not,  if  opportunity  offered,  to 
remonstrate  gently  with  him,  knowing  that  his  useful- 
ness might  be  greatly  lessened  by  such  things.  A 
young  brother  who,  absorbed  in  eating,  permitted 
himself  to  forget  the  courtesies  of  the  table,  he 
gravely  rebuked  when  alone  with  him.  He  may 
himself  have  failed  in  possessing  what  may  be  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  accomplishments  of  life — being 
a  good  listener.  If  the  topic  was  one  in  which  he 
took  no  interest,  he  may  have,  at  times,  turned  the 
subject  of  conversation  too  suddenly.  His  mind 
would  occasionally  travel  off  into  some  other  path  of 
thought,  while  being  in  the  attitude  of  attention; 
he  would  occasionally  interrupt;  he  would  not 
unfrequently  help  out,  with  words  of  his  own,  some 
one  whose  thoughts  or  words  did  not  flow  as  rapidly 
as  his.  His  manner  manifested  somewhat  of  the 
hurry  of  one  upon  whom  is  devolved  a  large  busi- 
ness; if  this  is  thought  excusable  in  a  millionaire, 
may  it  not  have  been  excusable  in  himl  The  ex- 
treme courtesy  of  his  bearing,  especially  toward 
ladies,  partook  of  the  old-school  stateliness,  so  rapidly 
vanishing  away. 

Possessed  of  a  fund  of  information  and  anecdote, 
Dr.  Baker  was  a  most  acceptable  guest  at  the  dinner 
table ;  and  those  who  have  been  most  with  him,  can 
hardly  say  whether  he  has  caused  them  to  weep  or 
laugh  most.  The  wonderful  happiness  of  the  man 
made  his  very  presence  as  sunshine  wherever  he  went. 
There  was  vigour,  hope,  joy,  in  his  very  eye;  and  all 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  381 

manifestly  from  the  same  divine  source.  Jesting, 
punning,  anecdote  merely  for  anecdote's  sake,  he 
greatly  disliked;  and  irreverent  quotations  of  Scrip- 
ture, or  any  thing  like  jesting  upon  sacred  themes, 
he  regarded  with  abhorrence. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

FOUNDING   OF   AUSTIN    COLLEGE — LABOURS    AS   AN   EVANGELIST, 
AND   AS    AN    AGENT    OF    THE    COLLEGE. 

The  autobiography  continued. 

My  labours  in  Galveston  were  not  entirely  in 
vain,  for  in  a  few  months  there  was  a  very  encourag- 
ing addition  to  the  membership  of  the  church.  At 
the  Fall  meeting  of  the  Presbytery,  held,  I  think,  in 
Washington,  the  subject  of  establishing  a  Presbyte- 
rian College  in  Texas  was  brought  up.  Something 
had  been  done,  but  not  eiFiciently.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
McCullough  had,  about  two  years  before,  been  sent 
on  to  the  North  as  Agent,  and  had  obtained  a  con- 
siderable number  of  books,  and  money  to  the  amount 
of  about  five  hundred  doUars.  But  Goliad  having, 
been  the  place  fixed  upon,  and  this  location  not 
having  been  much  approved  of,  the  matter  was  per- 
mitted to  remain  without  any  further  action.  I 
made  a  speech  in  Presbytery  in  favour  of  our  making 
a  renewed  efibrt,  and  proposed  that  a  committee  of 
three  should  be  appointed  to  ^x  upon  some  eligible 
place  in  middle  Texas.  The  motion  prevailed,  and 
Messrs.  Blair,  Miller,  and  myself  were  appointed  that 


382  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

committee.  About  this  time  I  was  urged  by  the 
Board  of  Missions  to  become  their  general  missionary 
in  Texas. 

It  is  sometimes  feared  of  evangelists  that  they 
will  not  "wear  well"  as  settled  pastors.  A  letter 
now  lies  before  the  writer,  in  which  this  fear  was 
expressed  of  Dr.  Baker,  before  he  had  entered  upon 
his  first  pastoral  charge.  The  reader  of  this  volume 
need  hardly  be  told,  that  in  every  church  of  which 
Dr.  Baker  was  pastor,  his  influence  in  the  commu- 
nity and  the  interest  in  his  preaching  knew  nothing 
but  steady  increase,  until  the  hour  when  some  provi- 
dence called  him  away  from  a  reluctant  people.  The 
secret  of  this  lay  in  his  heart  as  well  as  his  intellect ; 
the  one  glowing  with  ever  increasing  emotions,  the 
other  ever  expanding  with  unceasing  study  and  re- 
flection. It  was  the  remark  of  one  of  the  most  intel- 
lectual men  of  the  day  in  regard  to  this  man  of  God, 
"Grace  works  in  him  like  genius  in  other  men." 
His  sole  wish  and  aim  was  to  make  perfectly  clear 
to  his  hearers  one  truth;  but  that  truth  is  an  inex- 
haustible one,  ever  the  most  interesting  of  all  truths 
here  on  earth;  a  theme  which  will  be  ever  fresh 
throughout  eternity.  If  he  never  decreased  in  in- 
terest, the  merit  lay  in  his  theme,  not  in  himself; 
hence  he  retained,  from  the  time  he  first  appeared  in 
their  pulpit  to  the  day  of  his  death,  the  heartfelt 
esteem  and  love  of  all  the  churches  of  which  he  was 
in  turn  pastor.  Each  of  these  churches  followed  him, 
in  all  his  wanderings,  with  their  prayers. 

"Although  Dr.  Baker  has  been  long  absent  from 
us,"  writes  an  elder  of  the  Frankfort  church,  "yet 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  383 

are  his  faithful  and  self-denying  labours  for  our 
spiritual  good  remembered  by  those  who  enjoyed  the 
privilege  of  hearing  the  divine  message  from  his  lips, 
with  a  tender  and  sincere  affection  rarely  seen  in  this 
world  of  change."  This  brings  us  to  an  incident  of 
this  period  of  his  life,  furnished  by  the  same  elder. 

"In  1848,  nearly  twelve  years  after  Dr.  Baker  had 
left  this  charge,  we  learned  from  the  religious  jour- 
nals that  he  had  engaged  as  a  missionary  of  the 
Domestic  Board,  to  travel  in  Texas.  At  the  sug- 
gestion of  the  Superintendent  of  the  Sabbath-school 
of  our  church,  the  school  resolved  to  adopt  him  as 
their  missionary,  and  do  what  they  could  towards  his 
support.  The  fact  was  communicated  to  him  by  the 
agent  of  that  Board,  when  he  immediately  addressed 
the  following  letter  to  the  school,  which  was  printed, 
and  each  scholar  furnished  with  a  copy. 

«  Galvestoi? ,  Texas,  July  20th,  1849. 
"To  the  Sabbath-school  Children  of  the  Frankfort  Presbyterian  Church. 

"My  DEAR  YOUNG  Friends — Some  time  ago  I 
received  a  very  pretty  letter  from  the  E,ev.  Mr. 
Sturdevant,  who  visited  your  school,  I  presume,  not 
long  before.  He  was  much  pleased,  and  said  some 
things  to  me  in  his  letter  which  touched  my  heart, 
and  made  me  love  the  people  of  Frankfort,  and  espe- 
cially your  Sunday-school,  more  than  ever.  Would 
you  like  to  know  what  he  said'?  Well,  I  will  tell 
you:  He  said  that  when  he  visited  your  school,  he 
found  many  Sabbath-school  teachers  who  had  been 
in  that  school  when  I  was  pastor  of  the  church,  and 
that  they  had  not  forgotten  me,  but  'still  cherished 
my  memory  with  great  affection,  and  were  making 


384  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

my  name  as  familiar  among  the  children  as  that  of 
St.  Patrick  in  Ireland!'  This  remark  made  me  smile, 
and  yet  pleased  me  very  much.  AYhy  I  smiled,  you 
can  guess  very  well;  and  why  I  was  pleased  I  need 
not  tell  you,  for  you  know  we  all  love  to  have  our 
friends,  whom  we  love,  to  think  and  talk  kindly  of 
us,  especially  when  we  are  far  away,  and  have  not 
seen  each  other  for  a  long  time.  God  bless  them, 
every  one;  and  if  we  never  see  each  other  again  on 
earth,  may  we  meet  in  heaven!  But  Mr.  Sturdevant, 
in  his  letter,  said  something  else,  which  touched  my 
heart  more  than  all,  and  I  could  scarcely  keep  from 
shedding  tears  when  I  read  it.  He  said  that  your 
school  had  agreed  to  adopt  me  as  their  missionary  in 
Texas,  and  had  given  him  a  pledge  to  bring  in  a 
monthly  contribution  for  my  support.  This  was  very 
kind  indeed.  It  showed  a  kind  regard  for  me,  and, 
what  is  better  still,  a  great  fove  for  the  cause  of 
Christ,  and  for  poor  perishing  sinners  too.  And  Mr. 
Sturdevant  also  mentioned  that  when,  a  little  after 
they  heard  that  I  was  killed  by  the  Indians — which 
made  them  all  very  sad — they  did  still  give  a  con- 
siderable sum  to  the  missionary  cause.  Children, 
when  I  read  this  letter  my  heart  was  quite  melted 
within  me,  and  I  felt  as  I  had  not  for  a  long  time. 
May  heaven  richly  reward  your  beloved  Sabbath- 
school  teachers,  and  yourselves,  for  every  kind  thing 
done  and  said  for  me,  for  Texas,  and  for  the  cause 
of  Domestic  Missions ! 

"The  sad  account  of  my  having  been  killed  and 
scalped  by  the  savages,  was  not  true,  as  every  body 
now  knows;  but  many  persons  did  believe  it  at 
the   time.     It  was    all    a   mistake :    God   protected 


REY.    DANIEL    BAKER,  D.  D.  385 

me.  But,  dear  children,  I  was  in  danger,  for  I  was 
near  where  the  Indians  were;  and  I  got  an  arrow, 
all  stained  with  blood,  which  had  been  taken  out  of 
the  body  of  a  white  man  who  had  been  killed  near 
the  place  where  I  was.  If  I  can,  I  will  send  it  to 
you,  and  when  you  see  it,  all  stained  with  blood,  it 
will  make  you  think  of  the  one  who  had  been  chosen 
as  your  missionary;  and  I  hope  will  also  make  you 
think  how  good  your  Heavenly  Father  was  to  me, 
for  there  were  twenty  persons  killed  by  the  Indians, 
and  I  was  not  far  off,  and  I  might  have  been  killed 
too.  But  although  I  did  not  fall  by  the  Indian 
arrow,  I  was  in  great  danger  more  than  once,  in 
crossing  swollen  streams;  and,  children,  once  I  was 
LOST,  and  began  to  think  I  would  have  at  last  to  lie 
down  in  the  lonely  prairie  and  die,  far  away  from 
house  and  home,  without  a  friend  to  close  my  eyes, 
or  dig  my  grave!  One  night  I  camped  out  alone, 
and  did  not  dare  to  sleep  a  wink,  because  the  wolves 
and  panthers  were  around  me,  howling  and  making 
ugly  noises,  almost  aU  night  long;  but  God  pro- 
tected me  again,  and  I  think  I  ought  to  be  very 
thankful,  especially  as  I  heard,  soon  after,  of  a  man 
upon  whom  a  panther  sprang;  and  of  another,  who 
being  lost,  like  myself,  had  to  lie  down  and  die,  and 
was  not  found  until  he  had  been  dead  several  days. 

"  But  kindly  preserved  through  all  these  dangers 
and  difficulties,  now  I  am  in  Galveston,  a  beautiful 
city,  on  an  island,  having  water  all  around.  We 
have  a  fine  beach  on  the  sea-shore,  and  while  I  am 
writing,  I  hear  the  roaring  of  the  surf.  I  have  a  nice 
church,  and  a  flourishing  Sunday-school;  we  have 
33 


386  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

more  than  one  hundred  scholars,  and  they  all  seem 
very  glad  when  Sunday  comes,  that  they  may  go  to 
Sunday-school.  We  have  a  little  box,  and  the  chil- 
dren come  up  and  drop  in  their  dimes  and  half  dimes 
on  the  first  Sabbath  in  every  month,  and  it  seems  to 
please  them  very  much;  and  well  it  may,  for  who 
knows  but  what  they  give  to  the  missionary  cause 
may  be  the  means  of  leading  some  grown  persons, 
and  some  dear  children  too,  to  heaven.  I  am  going 
to  be  a  missionary  again,  and  in  this  same  Texas. 
O,  children,  you  do  not  know  how  much  we  need 
Presbyterian  preachers  in  this  State.  We  want  fifty 
or  sixty,  and  we  have  not  more  than  ten.  I  wrote  a 
long  letter  some  time  ago,  and  it  was  printed  in  a 
great  many  papers.  I  begged  our  young  preachers 
to  come  to  Texas,  for  they  were  needed  very  much 
here — more,  perhaps,  than  in  any  place  in  the  world. 
But  it  seems  I  cannot  get  any  to  come;  so  I  thought, 
old  man  as  I  am,  I  would  leave  Galveston,  and  go 
out  into  the  wilderness,  and  woods,  and  prairies  of 
Texas,  and  try  to  get.  the  people,  who  do  not  see  our 
preachers  often,  to  think  about  their  souls,  and  break 
off  from  their  sins,  and  love  the  sweet  and  blessed 
Saviour,  who  died  for  us  all.  Children,  are  you  not 
sorry  for  those  in  Texas  who  have  nobody  to  preach 
to  them,  and  nobody  to  gather  their  poor  dear 
children  into  Sunday-schools  ]  Well,  I  hope  you  will 
do  something  for  them. 

"As  I  am  still  alive,  and  wish  to  go  as  a  preacher 
up  and  down  through  this  much  neglected  State  of 
Texas,  if  you  still  would  like  to  adopt  me  as  your 
missionary,  or  if  you  wish  to  help  the  Board  who 


RET.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  387 

wish  me  to  be  their  missionary,  you  must  get  your 
Superintendent  to  write  to  Mr.  Sturdevant,  and  tell 
him  what  you  are  willing  to  do.  I  think  this  will 
please  him  very  much,  and  the  Board  too,  and,  what 
is  a  thousand  times  better  than  all,  I  think  it  will 
please  your  Heavenly  Father,  and  may  be  the  means 
of  saving  many  precious  souls,  who,  in  heaven,  will 
love  you  much  for  thinking  so  kindly  of,  and  caring 
for  them.  And  remember,  dear  children,  if  you 
wish  to  try  to  get  some  of  the  people  in  Texas  to  go 
to  heaven,  you  must  be  sure  to  try  to  get  to  heaven 
yourselves.  O,  it  is  a  sweet  place,  a  blessed  place ; 
and  if  you  get  there  you  will  be  as  angels,  with  your 
crowns  so  bright,  and  your  robes  so  white.  I  do 
beUeve  that  there  are  a  great  many  children  there 
already,  and  many  others  are  on  their  way  to  that 
happy  world  now.  A  little  girl,  only  thirteen  years 
of  age,  joined  my  church  last  Sabbath;  she  was 
permitted  by  the  Session  to  sit  down  at  the  table  of 
the  Lord,  and  take  the  sacrament.  She  seemed 
very  happy,  and  I  do  believe  she  is  a  real  Christian. 
Would  you  not  like  to  be  real  Christians  too,  and  go 
to  heaven  when  you  die'?  Then  you  must  pray  to 
God  to  give  you  a  new  heart,  and  make  you  good 
children.  I  used  to  live  in  Frankfort;  I  used  to 
preach  in  your  church,  and  talk  to  your  school;  but 
I  don't  know  that  I  shall  ever  be  in  Frankfort  again. 
Many  of  you,  I  suppose,  never  saw  me.  No  matter ; 
if  we  get  to  heaven,  we  will  see  and  love  each  other 
there;  and  there  we  will  see  our  blessed  Saviour, 
and  the  holy  angels,  and  all  our  pious  friends,  and  be 
so  happy  for  ever  and  ever !  God  bless  you  all,  my 
dear  children,  and  bless  your  dear  parents,  and  your 


388  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF   THE 

beloved   Sabbath-school   teachers   too.     Amen!   and 
Amen! 

''Your  very  sincere  friend, 

Daniel  Baker." 

Autobiography  continued. 

I  accepted  of  the  appointment  before  mentioned, 
and  entered  upon  the  labours  of  a  general  mis- 
sionary, with  the  view  of  also  carrying  out  the 
wishes  of  the  Presbytery  touching  the  selection 
of  a  proper  location  for  our  contemplated  College. 
During  this  tour  I  visited  numerous  places,  preach- 
ing as  I  had  opportunity,  and  holding  protracted 
meetings  where  such  were  desired.  Amongst  the 
meetings  held  was  one  at  Palestine,  East  Texas,  in 
company  with  brother  Becton.  This  meeting  proved 
a  delightful  one.  Some  twenty  persons  were  hope- 
fully converted.  Upon  the  close  of  the  meeting,  we 
organized  a  church  consisting  of  about  eighteen 
members.  Three  elders  were  chosen  and  set  apart 
to  their  office;  one  of  whom  was  Judge  T.,  one  of 
the  recent  converts.  Two  days  after  his  professed 
conversion,  he  was  made  a  ruling  elder.  This  may 
seem  to  have  been  rather  hasty,  but  in  his  piety  and 
litness  for  the  office,  there  was  but  one  opinion;  and 
his  subsequent  course  has  proved  that  the  choice  was 
a  good  one. 

I  had  as  yet  never  been  in  Huntsville,  Middle 
Texas;  but  having  heard  a  favourable  account  of  the 
place,  I  went  there,  and  held  a  protracted  meeting, 
which  lasted  a  few  days.  This  meeting  was  blessed 
to  the  hopeful  conversion  of  a  few  souls,  of  whom 
one,  Major  W.  II.,  was  subsequently  made  an  elder. 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  389 

As  the  meeting  drew  to  a  close,  I  mentioned  to  some 
of  the  prominent  citizens  of  the  place  that  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Brazos  had  resolved  to  take  measures  for 
the  establishment  of  a  Presbyterian  College  some- 
where in  Middle  Texas.  I  told  them  I  was  pleased 
with  Huntsville,  and  wished  to  know  if  the  citizens 
desired  the  College  to  be  established  there.  A  town 
meeting  was  immediately  called.  Colonel  Y.,  Mr. 
W.,  and  other  gentlemen  made  speeches  in  favour  of 
the  enterprise.  Subscription  papers  were  then  put 
into  circulation,  and  in  a  few  days  some  eight  thou- 
sand dollars  were  subscribed,  to  be  paid  in  five  equal 
annual  instalments,  "  for  the  erection  and  support  of 
a  College  by  the  Presbyterian  Church,  at  or  within  a 
mile  of  Huntsville,  Texas;  to  be  called  Baker  Col- 
lege." I  was  told  of  the  unexpectedly  large  amount 
subscribed,  but  for  several  weeks  I  could  not  get  a 
sight  of  the  paper,  nor  did  I  ever  dream  of  such  a 
name  being  given  to  it.  When  the  secret  was  at 
last  made  known  to  me,  I  instantly,  but  in  a  respect- 
ful way,  decHned  the  honour. 

The  letter  which  follows  was   addressed  at   this 
time  to  his  son  in  Galveston. 

'<  Huntsville,  .^wgMsf  lOUi,  1849. 

"My  dear  Son — Did  you  ever! — ^rain,  rain,  rain! 
Streams  swollen — bridges  gone — the  whole  land 
flooded !  I  have  had  to  '  rough  it'  indeed.  With 
great  difficulty  I  managed  to  reach  this  place  on 
Sunday  morning  in  time  to  preach,  after  riding  until 
near  nine  o'clock  the  preceding  night,  and  fourteen 
or  fifteen  miles  in  the  morning.  Many  had  given 
33* 


390  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

me  out;  yet  we  had  a  veiy  large  congregation,  and 
I  never  saw  persons  more  eager  for  preaching. 
Weather  and  walking  for  the  most  part  exceedingly 
bad;  almost  ashamed  to  think  of  calling  the  people 
out;  and  yet  the  congregations  surprisingly  large. 
I  hope  much  good  will  be  done  here.  Broached  the 
idea  of  our  locating  a  College  here.  People  won- 
derfully in  favour  of  it;  will  subscribe,  as  I  am 
told,  liberally.  One  gentleman  of  standing  says  he 
thinks  ten  thousand  acres  of  land  can  be  obtained, 
and  a  large  amount  in  money ;  and  General  Houston, 
I  am  told,  says  that  it  would  be  a  greater  advantage 
to  the  place  to  have  a  Presbyterian  College  located 
here,  than  to  have  the  place  made  the  seat  of 
government.  My  mission  is  truly  an  important 
one.  God  grant  I  may  be  enabled  to  give  a  new  and 
great  impulse  both  to  the  cause  of  religion  and  edu- 
cation. 

"  Huntsville  is  a  pleasant  place,  and  the  country 
around  very  beautiful — rolling  and  picturesque — 
water  good  and  abundant — many  mill  seats — coun- 
try healthy,  &c.  The  very  place,  I  think,  for  our 
College.  Monday,  13th.  Had  an  immense  crowd 
yesterday;  very  general  seriousness;  many  awak- 
ened; some  few,  I  hope,  converted;  prospects  en- 
couraging. My  mission  is  a  great  one,  a  glorious 
one.  I  am  likely  to  do  ten  times  more  good  in  the 
country  than  in  Galveston.  I  hope  the  Lord  will 
cause  my  influence  to  be  felt  most  extensively  and 
happily  throughout  the  whole  State. 
"Your  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  391 

(to  his  daughter.) 

"MowTGOMERr,  Texas,  September  ist,  1849. 
"My    DEAR    AND    ONLY    DAUGHTER 1    have    liot 

written  a  single  line  since  I  left  Galveston;  and 
lest  you  should  become  a  little  jealous,  I  must  rob 
your  mother  of  another  letter  intended  for  her, 
and  address  this  to  you.  The  month  of  August 
has  been  a  busy  one  to  me.  I  rode  two  hundred 
miles;  preached  fifty  times;  baptized  two  adults; 
ordained  three  elders;  received  several  to  the  com- 
mimion;  paved  the  way  for  organizing  one  church, 
and  wrote  some  dozen  letters  or  more.  This,  I 
think,  will  do  for  'a  venerable  father  going  down 
the  steeps  of  old  age,'  especially  in  the  month  of 
August!  And  another  thing — during  the  same 
month  I  broached  the  idea  of  locating  a  Presby- 
terian College  at  Huntsville,  and  had  a  subscription 
to  the  amount  of  seven  thousand  eight  hundred  dol- 
lars placed  in  my  hand,  and  the  assurance  of  another 
subscription  of  one  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land ! 
If  every  month  in  the  year  I  can  do  as  much  as  this 
in  the  wilds  of  Texas,  neither  I,  nor  anybody  else 
can  regret  that  I  exchanged  the  pleasant  life  of  a 
pastor  for  the  laborious  one  of  a  missionary. 

"My  health  is  still  good,  only  I  confess  I  feel  a 
little  jaded;  and  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  could,  just 
at  this  time,  enjoy  very  well  a  week's  repose  in  the 
bosom  of  my  family,  hearing  you  and  your  m.other 
sing,  'Home,  sweet  home;'  and  I  do  think  if  I 
had  a  pair  of  wings  I  would  have  paid  you  a  flying 
visit  before  this  time.  But  here  I  am  in  the  midst 
of  a  glorious  missionary  field,  far   away  from  my 


392  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF   THE 

flimily,  but  doing  some  good  I  hope ;  and  I  must  say, 
that  of  late  I  have  thought  more  frequently  than 
usual  upon  these  words  of  our  Saviour — 'I  must 
work  the  work  of  Him  that  sent  me,  while  it  is  day, 
for  the  night  cometh  when  no  man  can  work.'  And 
I  will  add,  that  sometimes,  like  the  hireling  spoken 
of  by  the  man  of  Uz,  I  am  ready  to  long  for  the 
shades  of  evening,  that  I  may  enter  upon  my  rest. 
Indeed,  the  other  day,  my  feelings  were  almost  over- 
whelming, while  I  heard  some  sweet  voices  singing 
these  beautiful  lines : 

'See  the  kind  angels  at  the  gates, 

Inviting  us  to  come, 
There,  Jesus,  the  forerunner  waits, 

To  welcome  travellers  home.' 

"  This  is  the  principle  upon  which  we  should  act 
in  all  things.  The  bright  side!  The  bright  side! 
Always  look  upon  the  bright  side!  Love  to  your 
mother — to  all. 

"Yours  affectionately, 

Daniel  Baker." 

Autobiography  continued. 

At  my  request,  Col.  Yoakum  drew  up  the  charter 
of  the  College,  making  such  alterations  as  I  sug- 
gested. Availing  myself  of  the  earliest  opportunity, 
I  laid  the  charter  before  brothers  Wilson  and  Miller, 
preparatory  to  its  being  submitted  for  the  action  of 
the  Presbytery.  Fearing  that  Judge  G.,  of  Grimes 
county,  an  influential  member  of  the  Senate,  would 
oppose  the  charter  on  account  of  its  denominational 
character,  I  called  upon  him,  spent  a  night  with 
him,  and  made   such    statements   and  explanations 


REV.    DANIEL  BAKER,   D.  D.  393 

as  entirely  satisfied  him;  and  from  being,  as  was 
supposed,  a  decided  opponent,  he  became  a  warm 
friend  and  advocate  of  the  charter.  At  the  next 
meeting  of  the  Presbytery,  which  was  held  at  Inde- 
pendence, in  the  study  of  brother  Wilson,  the  char- 
ter was  submitted,  and  every  section  and  feature 
carefully  scanned.  An  attempt  was  made  to  post- 
pone the  final  action  of  the  Presbytery  on  the  sub- 
ject, on  the  ground  that  the  brethren  of  the  West 
were  not  present.  "  Does  not  courtesy  to  our  breth- 
ren of  the  West  require  this  postponement  T'  said 
one  brother.  "  No,  Moderator,"  said  I,  '*  a  postpone- 
ment will  be  a  death-blow,  for  the  Legislature  meets 
biennially,  and  if  we  do  not  get  a  charter  at  the 
coming  session  of  the  Legislature,  we  cannot  get  it 
for  two  years,  and  this  will  discourage  those  who 
have  so  liberally  subscribed." 

Whilst  discussing,  afterwards,  some  point  in  the 
charter  upon  which  there  was  some  diversity  of 
opinion,  another  member  of  the  Presbytery  arose  and 
remarked,  "  Had  we  not  better.  Moderator,  not  de- 
cide just  now,  but  write  on  to  some  of  the  Colleges 
at  the  North,  and  see  what  their  charters  arel" 
Much  excited  at  such  a  motion,  which,  if  carried, 
would  ruin  the  whole  affair,  I  arose  and  said,  "  Mode- 
rator, we  have  understanding  enough  to  frame  our 
own  charter;  and  I  tell  you  again,  any  such  post- 
ponement will  be  equivalent  to  a  complete  relin- 
quishment of  the  enterprise."  Happily,  all  objec- 
tions were  overruled,  and  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  secure  the  needful  charter. 

When  the  naming  of  the  Listitution  was  called 
up,  I  found  that  there  was  a  communication  from  the 


394  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

original  subscribers,  requesting  the  Presbytery  to 
sanction  the  name  originally  given.  I  was  asked  if 
I  would  consent.  I  again  declined  the  honour  pro- 
posed to  be  done  me.  Eetiring,  that  the  Presby- 
tery might  not  be  trammelled  by  my  presence,  the 
matter  was  discussed,  and  when  I  came  in  again,  I 
found  that  the  Institution  was  named  Austin  Col- 
lege, in  honour  of  Stephen  F.  Austin,  the  great 
Texas  pioneer. 

Soon  after  the  meeting  of  Presbytery,  Dr.  Baker 
wrote  as  follows  to  his  son  at  Galveston. 

"Washington,  Texas,  October  IG//1,  1849. 

"  My  dear  Son — We  had  a  harmonious  meeting 
of  Presbytery.  Brothers  Miller,  Wilson,  Becton, 
F.,  and  myself  present,  and  four  ruling  elders.  AU 
things  went  oif  very  well.  We  have  fixed  upon 
Huntsville  as  the  seat  of  our  literary  institution,  and 
have  named  it  Austin  College — certainly  a  much 
better  name  than  the  one  originally  intended.  I  am 
for  prompt  action,  and  my  motto  is,  'Strike,  while 
the  iron  is  hot.'  Some  things  were  started  in  Pres- 
bytery, such  as  waiting  to  have  a  fuller  meeting  of 
Presbytery,  and  waiting  until  we  could  get  the  form 
of  what  was  called  a  Constitution  from  some  of  the 
northern  seminaries ;  but  these  things  were  promptly 
met  and  put  down.  We  had  a  constitutional  meet- 
ing of  Presbytery,  and  if  other  brethren  did  not 
come,  we  regret  it,  but  we  had  power  to  act  without 
them ;  and  how  did  we  know  that  we  should  have  a 
larger  meeting  on  the  22d  of  next  month?  How  did 
we  know  that  we  should  then  even  have  a  quorum] 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  395 

I  like  ^delicacy,'  and  'courtesy/  and  all  that,  but,  in 
a  noble  enterprise,  I  like  prompt  action  and  success 
more. 

"  I  do  think  that  God  is  with  us,  and,  in  due  time, 
glorious  results  will  crown  this  noble  enterprise. 
Mr. seems  to  think  that  I  am  a  little  too  san- 
guine, a  little  too  headlong;  but  I  mature  matters  a 
little  more  carefully  than  he  supposes.  If  he  knew 
the  process  of  reasoning  by  which  I  came  to  my  con- 
clusions, he  would  rather  say  'Euge!''  than  'Don't 
go  so  fast;'  and  the  fact  is,  I  have  seen  so  many 
wretched  failures,  purely  from  want  of  zeal,  determi- 
nation, and  prompt  action,  that  my  mind  is  perhaps 
more  braced  up  than  otherwise  it  would  be.  Only 
think!  the  scheme  of  a  College  started  nearly  ten 
years  ago,  and  even  the  foundation  not  yet  laid! 
And  the  tract  of  land  offered  to  me  by  Mr.  Perry, 
for  the  College,  suffered  to  pass  out  of  our  hands! — 
which  tract  of  land  has  since  been  sold,  as  I  have 
been  informed,  for  two  thousand  dollars!  O,  pro- 
crastination! thou  art  not  only  'the  thief  of  time,' 
but  the  conqueror  of  all  good  purposes!  My  son, 
receive  your  father's  counsel — Never  put  off  till  to- 
morrow what  ought  to  be  done  to-day. 

"I  have  cold  water  thrown  upon  me  on  all  sides; 
but  I  am  resolved  to  feel  it  no  more  than  the  marble 
statue,  upon  which  pours  a  perpetual  shower,  at  the 
Fairmount  water-works,  near  Philadelphia.  I  shall 
endeavour  to  have  a  good  reason  for  every  thing  I 
do  and  say,  and  then  go  ahead.  A  long  time  ago, 
Mrs.  Hoge  remarked,  'Daniel  Baker  is  always  blun- 
dering; but  somehow  or  other,  he  always  blunders 
right.'     The  secret  of  the  thing  is  this — I  endeavour 


396  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

to  look  at  things  in  all  their  bearings ;  and  if  I  seem 
to  step  from  one  hill  to  another,  it  is  not  because  I 
have  not  walked  over  every  inch  of  the  intervening 
ground,  but  because  I  do  not  think  it  necessary  to 
point  out  every  foot-print  which  I  have  made.  An- 
other thing  is  this:  there  are  promises  in  the  Bible, 
such  as,  'Acknowledge  the  Lord  in  all  thy  ways, 
and  he  shall  direct  thy  paths;'  and,  'If  any  man  lack 
wisdom,'  &c.  What  is  the  use  of  having  promises, 
if  we  do  not  make  use  of  theml  No  more  than 
having  land  or  money,  and  making  no  use  of  it. 

"I  wish  you — mother,  sister,  brother,  and  all — to 
be  void  of  care,  and  just  as  happy  as  possible;  even 
as  happy  as  I  am,  when  I  think  I  am  serving  my 
Master,  and  doing  good.  I  have  been  appointed 
by  Presbytery  to  visit  the  old  States,  to  solicit  con- 
tributions. 

"  Should  any  Princeton  student  come,  be  sure  to 
remember  my  'letter.'  If  sister  N.  should  come, 
your  mother  would  find  some  way  to  accommodate 
her;  aye,  and  even  Dr.  O.,  should  he  come  along 
with  her.  If  your  father  can  sleep  upon  the  ground, 
when  engaged  in  the  cause  of  Christ,  I  am  sure 
that  any  son  of  mine,  or  even  my  only  daughter,  to 
accomplish  a  good  object,  would  be  willing  for  a 
night  or  two  to  sleep  upon  a  pallet. 

"Your  almost  too  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

With  a  heart  pained  at  the  destitution  he  had 
witnessed  in  his  journeying  through  Texas,  he  ad- 
dressed a  letter  to  the  students  of  Princeton  Semi- 
nary, dated  Galveston,  March  2d,  1849,  which  was 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  T).  397 

published  in  the  New  Orleans  Presbyterian.  After 
detailing  the  necessities  of  the  State,  he  adds: 

"  Let  it  not  be  forgotten,  that  he  who  conies  to  this 
State  must  be  no  drone,  nor  speculator  in  lands. 
He  must  be  a  man  of  God,  indeed ;  a  man  of  intelli- 
gence and  zeal;  a  man,  like  Barnabas,  full  of  faith 
and  the  Holy  Ghost;  and,  like  Paul,  'in  labours 
more  abundant.'  Come  then,  dear  young  brethren," 
exclaims  this  venerable  pioneer  for  Christ,  who  in- 
vited them  into  no  path  in  which  he  had  not  trod- 
den before  himself — "come  on  the  wings  of  love; 
come  in  the  exercise  of  faith  and  prayer;  come  pre- 
pared to  do  the  work  of  an  Evangelist,  and  make 
full  proof  of  your  ministry.  Come  in  this  spirit, 
and  you  need  fear  nothing.  I  tell  you  plainly,  we 
have  no  beds  of  roses  here ;  but  we  have  wide  fields 
of  usefulness.  We  have  no  California  gold  here; 
but  we  have  many  precious  souls,  which,  as  jewels, 
may  be  safely  casketted  for  eternity." 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  of  Brazos,  then 
the  only  Presbytery  in  the  State,  in  July  of  the  same 
year  he  obtained  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to 
address  a  call  for  aid,  to  the  ministers  and  members 
of  the  Church  in  the  old  States,  in  behalf  of  Texas ; 
and,  as  chairman  of  that  committee,  addressed  to 
them,  through  the  papers,  a  thrilling  appeal. 

These  appeals  did  not  have  the  effect  in  full  which 
he  greatly  desired;  for,  writing  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Board  of  Domestic  Missions,  December  12th, 
1851,  he  says:  "The  tide  of  immigration  is  flowing 
upon  us  surprisingly,  but  scarcely  any  ministers  of 
our  communion  coming  in  upon  this  tide.  What 
34 


398  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

are  we  to  do'?  We  call,  but  they  will  not  come. 
Brother  Jones,  I  have  lately  had  a  new  idea.  Des- 
pairing of  efficient  aid  from  the  old  States,  I  think 
we  must  raise  up  preachers  amongst  ourselves.  The 
other  day  this  idea  flashed  upon  me  with  great  force ; 
and  now,  when  I  see  a  promising  young  man  in  the 
Lord,  I  make  it  a  practice  to  tap  him  upon  the 
shoulder  and  say,  'Young  man,  are  you  sure  it  is 
not  your  duty  to  preach  the  gospel T  I  am  happy 
to  say  there  are  now  some  four  or  five  in  the  circle 
of  my  acquaintance  in  Texas  who  have  the  ministry 
in  view.  The  Lord  increase  the  number  of  such  an 
hundred-fold.  Our  College  enterprise  is  still  in  a 
prosperous  state ;  I  trust  it  will  be  a  great  blessing 
to  Texas  and  our  Church." 

Yes,  let  it  be  for  ever  remembered  by  the  Church 
in  Texas — let  it  be  distinctly  impressed  upon  the 
minds  of  the  Trustees  and  Faculty  of  Austin  College 
in  all  succeeding  generations — the  one  idea  of  its 
founders,  that  for  which  they  wept,  and  prayed, 
and  toiled,  and  gave  of  their  means,  was  that  it 
might  be  an  institution  wherein  there  might  be 
raised  up  for  Texas,  generation  after  generation,  a 
native  ministry.  For  all  generations  to  come,  then, 
palsied  be  the  hand  which  shall  ever  cast  a  ballot  to 
alienate  the  institution  in  any  way  from  this,  the 
main  purpose  of  its  existence — that  sacred  purpose 
which  prompted  its  aged  servant  to  travel  and  to  beg 
as  he  did;  and  which  was  one  motive,  at  least,  which 
prompted  the  free  contributions  of  many  thousand 
Christian  givers  over  the  land — givers  whose  eyes 
will  ever  rest  upon  the  institution,  watching  for  the 
fruits  therein  of  their  giving.     So  long  as  Austin 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  399 

College  shall  number  one  learner  within  its  walls, 
withered  be  the  tongue  of  any  teacher  therein  who 
shall  utter  a  syllable  which  has  a  tendency  to  pre- 
vent, in  the  case  of  a  single  student,  the  accomplish- 
ment of  this,  the  chief  and  holy  object  for  which, 
above  all  others,  the  College  was  conceived,  born, 
and  reared. 

At  the  time  Dr.  Baker  prepared  these  last  pages 
of  his  narrative,  his  mind  was  so  much  occupied  with 
unfolding  the  earliest  history  of  the  College — the 
history  of  an  institution  for  which  his  brethren  and 
himself  hoped  so  much — that  he  entirely  forgot  to 
make  any  allusion  to  an  excursion  of  a  more  purely 
missionary  character  than  any  he  had  ever  made 
before.  From  the  hour  he  was  a  student  in  College, 
he  had  laboured  here  and  there  over  almost  every 
county,  not  to  say  State,  in  the  Domestic  Missionary 
field.  He  is  now  permitted  the,  to  him,  rare  privi- 
lege and  pleasure  of  walking  and  working  along  its 
outmost  boundary  line;  even  of  crossing  that  line 
into  the  darkness  beyond.     In  this  way. 

About  December,  1849,  he  returned  to  Galveston 
from  his  missionary  travels  in  the  interior  of  the 
State.  Arriving  in  Galveston  at  the  close  of  the 
day,  he  takes  his  seat  at  the  supper-table  of  his  son, 
then  in  temporary  charge  of  the  church  th^re, 
wearied  with  his  journeyings.  At  the  table,  the 
conversation  is  turned  upon  the  destitute  region 
along  the  Rio  Grande,  unvisited  then,  so  far  as  was 
known,  by  ministers  of  any  denomination.  The 
weariness  of  the  travel-stained  missionary  is  forgot- 
ten as  he  converses ;  the  ruling  passion  of  his  soul  is 
aroused.     How  delightful  to  preach  Christ  in  these 


400  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

"regions  beyond!"  When  he  is  rested,  he  really 
must  seek  some  means,  if  possible,  of  visiting  that 
dividing  line  of  Protestantism  and  Popery.  The 
opportunities  of  visiting  that  region  are  few,  and  the 
mode  of  travel  exceedingly  inconvenient  and  unplea- 
sant. "What  matters  it,"  says  the  man  of  God, 
"  shall  any  one  be  able  to  find  his  way  there  for  any 
purpose,  and  not  the  preacher  of  the  gospel'?"  The 
son  then  casually  mentions,  that  in  passing  along 
the  wharves  that  day  he  had  seen  a  small  vessel 
which  was  to  sail  for  the  mouth  of  the  Eio  Grande. 
"Wheni"  asks  the  father.  "To-morrow,"  is  the 
answer.  "I  will  go  in  her,"  is  the  immediate  and 
characteristic  reply. 

Early  next  morning  the  writer  accompanied  his 
father  to  the  wharves.  There  lies  the  little  sailing 
vessel;  so  very  small,  so  heaped  with  rigging,  and 
barrels,  and  boxes,  there  seemed  to  be  no  room  even 
to  sit.  The  passenger  makes  a  place  for  himself, 
valise  in  hand,  upon  the  narrow  deck;  the  lines  are 
loosed;  the  little  barque  drifts  off;  then  its  sails  are 
raised,  and,  leaning  perilously  to  one  side,  it  glides 
rapidly  away ;  the  white  hair  of  the  aged  missionary 
can  be  seen  no  more ;  and  even  the  gleam  of  the 
white  canvass  is  soon  lost  in  the  blue  horizon.  As 
the  writer  watched  the  outward  flight  of  the  tiny 
barque  bearing  its  precious  freight,  he  almost  blamed 
himself  for  letting  his  father  know  of  the  vessel,  even 
though  his  own  heart  could  not  but  glow,  if  it  were 
only  from  sympathy,  in  the  object  to  be  accom- 
plished. The  following  lines,  in  pencil,  a  few  days 
afterward,  relieved  him  of  any  apprehension  of  the 
safety  of  the  missionary  so  far. 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  401 

"Mouth  of  Rio  Graxde,  December  23d,  1849. 

"My  dear  Son — This  morning,  Sabbath,  I  preached 
to  almost  the  whole  population  of  this  place,  about 
fifty;  the  first  sermon  ever  preached  here.  Not  a 
single  professor  of  religion  present,  I  believe,  save 
the  pious  sailor  who  hands  you  this.  Only  think, 
about  fifty  accountable  creatures,  and  only  one  who 
makes,  I  believe,  any  pretension  to  religion !  Is  not 
a  missionary  needed'? 

"After  the  service  was  over,  a  person  at  the  door 
held  out  his  hat,  and,  to  my  perfect  surprise,  the 
amount  thrown  in,  four  dollars  and  forty  cents,  was 
placed  in  my  hands.  I  expressed  my  surprise,  and 
mentioned  that  I  desired  nothing.  But,  no — I  must 
take  what  was  so  freely  ofiered.  I  am  sure  it  was  a 
free-will  ofi'ering,  for  some  gentlemen  who  had  retired 
before  the  hat  was  held  out,  came  in  and  insisted 
upon  giving  something,  saying  that  they  were  much 
pleased  with  the  sermon,  &c.  I  am  to  preach  again 
in  the  afternoon,  and  at  night.  May  the  Master 
bless  my  labours  here.  Excuse  this  scrawl;  no  ink 
at  hand. 

"  Your  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

It  need  hardly  be  remarked,  that  in  all  cases  of 
donation  as  above,  the  sums  given  were  accounted 
for  to  the  Board  of  Missions  as  deducting  that  much 
from  the  salary  due  him  from  it. 

Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  the  Eio  Grande,  he 

visited  and  preached  at  every  inhabited  hamlet  up 

this  river.     In  Brownsville,  the  largest  place  on  the 

American  side,  he  made  some  stay,  preaching  with 

34* 


402  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

considerable  success.    From  this  place  he  thus  writes 
to  his  daughter. 

"Brownsville,  December,  26th  1849, 

"  My  dear  Daughter — Well,  here  I  am  in  Browns- 
ville !  Yes,  in  the  far-famed  town  of  Brownsville,  on 
the  Rio  Grande  I  But  I  must  tell  you  all  about  mat- 
ters and  things.  Last  Sabbath  I  preached  at  the 
'  Mouth'  three  sermons.  Every  person  in  the  place 
came  out  to  hear  me,  I  was  informed,  except  two  or 
three;  and  a  right  solemn  meeting  we  had,  particu- 
larly at  night.  On  Monday  morning  I  was  anxious 
to  push  on  for  Brownsville,  about  thirty  miles  dis- 
tant. A  steamer  was  expected  in  a  day  or  two,  but 
as  there  was  some  uncertainty  about  the  thing,  and 
I  was  impatient  to  go  on,  in  connection  with  two  or 
three  other  gentlemen,  as  anxious  to  get  on  as  my- 
self, I  chartered  a — horse  and  cart !  and  came  rattling 
on  over  a  fine  road  in  great  style !  You  never  saw 
such  a  country  in  all  your  life!  Not  a  single  forest 
tree  between  this  and  the  'Mouth,'  nor  for  hun- 
dreds of  miles  around,  except  what  is  called  the 
mesquit,  the  ebony,  and  the  marmosa,  which  in 
general  are  about  the  size  of  ordinary  peach-trees — 
and  no  houses — not  even  log-cabins !  Here  and  there, 
at  great  distances,  you  find  a  ranche,  a  kind  of  shanty 
or  hovel,  made  of  cane,  and  thatched  with  a  kind  of 
grass,  or  rush;  a  miserable  shelter.  These  wretched 
hovels  are  filled  with  lazy  Mexicans,  who  lounge 
about  from  one  year's  end  to  another,  doing  almost 
literally  nothing  at  all,  except  gambling.  On  Mon- 
day last,  our  chariot,  {alias  cart,)  about  one  o'clock 
stopped  at  one  of  these  ranches,  where  we  fed  our 


REV.  DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  403 

horse,  and  feasted  on  some  cheese  and  pilot-bread 
which  we  had  along  with  us.  To  make  our  dinner 
more  sumptuous,  I  bought  a  poUonci ;  and  I  must 
say  I  never  enjoyed  a  snack  more  in  all  my  life. 

"While  tarrying  at  this  ranche,  several  Mexicans 
were  playing  cards — gambling.  The  quarter  of  a 
dollar  paid  for  horse-feed  was  gambled  off  before  we 
resumed  our  journey.  Our  driver,  or  charioteer, 
not  being  a  Son  of  Temperance,  but  one  of  John 
Barleycorn's  children,  found  it  a  little  difficult  to 
plumb  the  road,  but,  drunkard  fashion,  went,  as  it 
were,  reeling  along ;  and  he  was  particularly  unskil- 
ful on  this  occasion,  as  he  was  very  wrathful  with 
one  of  his  cronies  at  the  'Mouth,'  with  whom  he  had 
intended  to  fight  a  duel  that  morning!  O,  what 
foolish  talk,  and  what  an  amount  of  it ;  and  by  rea- 
son of  his  wrath  and  liquor  he  took  a  wrong  road, 
and  for  some  considerable  time  was  going  right  away 
from  Brownsville!  I  regretted  this  very  much,  as  it 
prevented  my  reaching  there  in  time  to  preach  that 
night.  About  sun-set,  however,  I  reached  the  wharf- 
boat,  used  as  a  tavern  or  hotel  here,  where  I  pur- 
posed to  tarry  that  night;  but  as  I  had  no  oppor- 
tunity of  preaching,  and  there,  in  full  view  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  was  Matamoras,  I  thought 
I  would  pass  over  and  spend  the  night  in  that  town, 
especially  as  Captain  P.  had  kindly  invited  me  to 
make  his  house  my  home. 

"Leaving  my  trunk  on  the  wharf-boat,  that  the 
Mexican  custom-house  officers  might  not  be  fingering 
my  clothing,  I  went  over  in  a  ferry-boat  to  the  other 
side  of  the  river,  for  which  I  paid  only  six-and-a- 
quarter  cents.     I  took  a  hack  that  was  at  hand,  and 


404  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

had  a  pleasant  ride  into  the  heart  of  the  city,  about 
one  mile  distant,  for  which  I  paid  only  twelve-and-a- 
half  cents.  As  the  coachman  and  myself,  in  the 
matter  of  language,  were  barbarians  to  each  other,  I 
felt  myself  in  a  curious  predicament.  All  I  could 
say  was  '  Captain  P.,  Captain  P.,'  but  he  knew  not 
where  he  lived,  and  I  was  '  in  a  fix.'  Set  down  on 
one  corner  of  the  plaza,  I  wandered  along,  and  finally 
lighted  upon  a  Frenchman,  who,  in  broken  English, 
gave  me  to  understand  where  Captain  P.  lived.  There 
I  was  cordially  welcomed;  and  much  pleased  was  I 
to  find  that  Captain  P's  bride  and  her  sister  were 
Sabbath-school  teachers,  and  members  of  the  Pres- 
byterian church.  After  supper  the  Captain  took  me 
to  see  the  American  Consul,  whose  lady  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  the  Consul  being 
nominally  a  Presbyterian  also.  They  gave  me  a  most 
cordial  welcome  to  Matamoras,  and  invited  me  to 
dine  with  them  the  next  day;  and  also  very  kindly 
invited  '  Doctor  Baker'  to  make  their  house  his 
home. 

"  That  night,  you  Avill  observe,  was  Christmas 
eve;  and  leaving  the  house  of  Mr.  S.,  the  American 
Consul,  I  went  out  with  Captain  P.  by  moonlight,  to 
see  the  town,  and  the  '  carryings  on'  in  this  part  of 
the  dominions  of  the  'Man  of  Sin.'  We  went  down 
one  street,  and  up  another,  seeing  nothing  w^orthy  of 
observation,  until  we  came  to  the  market-house,  and 
here  was  a  crowd.  Tables  were  spread,  and  stands 
were  seen,  upon  which  were  placed  cakes  and  fruits 
of  various  kinds;  and  another  set  of  tables,  around 
which  were  gathered  a  great  many  persons  of  the 
lower  class,  gambling;  all  standing,  save  the  owner 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  405 

of  the  table,  who  was  seated,  handling  the  cards,  and 
uttering  words  which,  of  course,  I  understood  not. 
Whilst  I  was  in  company  with  Captain  P.,  saunter- 
ing about,  there  came  up  a  man,  a  priest!  This  man 
was  also  a  gambler,  and  profane — ^but  not  a  regular 
one — who  was  introduced  to  me,  and  very  graciously 
invited  the  Captain  and  myself  to  go  into  a  drinking 
establishment  hard  by,  and  take  a  drink  I  Declining 
the  invitation,  I  agreed  to  wait  until  the  Captain 
returned.  Whilst  waiting,  three  Mexicans  came  up 
to  me,  and  seemed  to  be  examining  my  person  rather 
more  curiously  than  I  desired;  but  fortunately  at 
that  moment  the  Captain  returned,  and  we  went 
back  to  his  house,  and  talked  until  it  was  time  to  go 
and  see  the  cathedral,  at  twjelve  o'clock  at  night.  I 
did  not  like  much  to  mingle  with  such  a  crowd  of 
Mexicans  at  that  time  of  night,  but  went  in.  Soon 
the  music  struck  up,  and  the  ceremonies  commenced. 
All  at  once  they  began  to  kneel;  and  thinking  that 
I  might  get  into  a  scrape,  I  made  haste  and  went 
out.  You  will  recollect  that  there  are  no  seats  in 
the  cathedral,  no  roof,  no  floor!  It  is  httle  better 
than  an  open  enclosure,  walled  around;  the  altar 
being  at  one  end,  under  a  kind  of  tent.  I  suppose 
about  one  thousand  or  fifteen  hundred  persons  were 
seen  kneeling,  literally  upon  the  ground,  within  the 
walls  of  this  great  cathedral,  the  moon  and  stars 
having  full  permission  to  shine  upon  them. 

"It  was  about  half-past  twelve  when  I  returned 
with  my  kind  friend,  and  upon  a  cot  I  sought  repose ; 
but  there  was  no  repose  for  me,  there  was  such  an 
outrageous  noise!  Besides  the  ringing  of  bells,  and 
beating  of  drums,  and  shall  I  say,  'the  sound  of  the 


406  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

cornet,  flutes,  harp,  psaltery,  sackbut,  dulcimer,  and 
all  kinds  of  music' — besides  all  such  sort  of  things, 
there  was  one  thing  of  all  others  the  most  abomina- 
ble, the  voice  of  some  three  or  four  sentinels,  placed 
on  the  top  of  some  houses,  singing  out,  every  ten 
minutes,  '  On  the  alert,'  in  Spanish,  in  a  voice  and 
with  tones  the  most  dismal  and  hideous  that  ever  I 
heard  in  all  my  life.  It  was  something  like  the 
caterwauling  of  cats,  but  vastly  more  unpleasant  to 
the  ear.  And  only  think,  I  had  to  He  in  my  cot, 
and  listen  to  this  every  ten  minutes!  I  suppose, 
during  the  live-long  night  I  did  not  sleep  one  half 
an  hour.  But  I  ought  to  have  told  you,  that  before 
the  midnight  ceremonies  spoken  of,  the  soldiers  in 
the  garrison  had  a  grand,  supper.  Seated  at  a  long 
table,  they  were  served  by  their  oflicers,  and  every 
now  and  then  there  were  '  vivas  T  given,  which  made 
the  welkin  ring  again.  As  the  establishment  was 
adjoining  Captain  P's  premises,  we  looked  through 
a  hole  in  the  wall,  and  saw  their  capers;  but  not 
having  as  clear  and  extensive  a  view  as  we  desired, 
we  got  a  ladder,  and  getting  upon  the  roof  of  Cap- 
tain P's  house,  we  had  a  full  view.  O,  that  night! 
how  many  curious  sights  and  things  were  crowded 
into  that  Christmas-eve  night! 

"The  next  day  I  dined  with  the  Consul,  and 
taking  a  hack,  came  over  to  Brownsville,  where  I 
preached  at  night  to  a  great  crowd.  So  many  per- 
sons came  in,  that  additional  benches  had  to  be  sent 
for.  This  was  not  expected.  As  there  were  so 
many  fandangoes,  &c.,  in  town  that  night,  it  was 
thought  we  should  not  have  very  many.  In  the 
crowd  were  several  of  the  oflicers  of  the  army,  of  the 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  407 

highest  grade,  and  their  families.  I  must  say,  it  is  a 
long  time  since  I  had  more  pleasure  in  preaching. 
It  was  in  Brownsville,  and  to  a  crowded  and  most 
attentive  audience,  who  hung  upon  my  lips,  eager,  it 
seemed,  to  catch  every  word.  My  sermon  occupied 
one  full  hour;  but  there  was  no  indication  of  rest- 
lessness. Indeed,  it  was  remarked  by  a  gentleman 
(and  he  not  usually  a  church-going  man)  that  he 
could  have  remained  and  listened  three  hours  longer. 
I  am  the  first  regular  Protestant  preacher  of  any 
denomination  that  has  ever  preached  in  Brownsville. 
I  feel  much  delighted  that  God  has  sent  me  here, 
and  I  hope  he  will  bless  abundantly  my  labours  of 
love.     I  hope  to  have  a  good  meeting  to-night  also. 

"Rio  Grande  City  and  Boma,  the  only  other 
towns  of  any  importance  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Bio 
Grande,  are  some  three  hundred  miles  higher  up.  I 
do  not  know,  but  I  think  it  likely  that  I  shall  visit 
them  before  my  return,  which,  I  suppose,  may  be  in 
some  five  or  six  weeks  from  this  time. 

Daniel  Baker." 

At  every  neighborhood  visited  by  him  he  preached 
as  often  as  possible,  searched  out  such  professors  of 
religion  as  were  to  be  found,  and  organized  Sabbath- 
schools.  He  seems  to  have  been  treated  with  much 
respect  as  the  "American  Padre."  At  one  place  he 
rang  the  bell  to  assemble  the  people  into  the  jacaJ, 
which  was  used  for  public  meetings.  Just  as  he 
entered  upon  the  services  he  was  entreated  to  be  as 
brief  as  possible,  as  the  place  was  wanted  for  a  fan- 
daiigo  the  moment  he  was  done. 

It  is  believed  that  he  was  the  first  preacher  of  the 


408  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

gospel  whose  voice  was  ever  heard  upon  the  Rio 
Grande.  He  would  often  speak  of  this  excursion, 
remarking,  in  his  playful  manner,  that  it  was  the 
first  time  in  his  life  that  he  had  known  a  Presbyte- 
rian minister  to  be  ahead  of  the  Methodists!  If  he 
was  indeed  the  first  preacher  there,  as  is  believed, 
then  should  his  name  be  recorded  for  ever  as  that 
soldier  in  the  army  of  Emmanuel,  who,  in  the  inevi- 
table westward  march  of  that  army,  was  permitted 
to  stand  in  advance  of  all  the  rest  upon  this  farthest 
border  line.  According  to  the  eternal  purpose  and 
promise  of  God,  the  day  shall  dawn  whose  meridian 
sun  shall  sparkle  upon  the  white  folds  of  the  banner 
of  the  cross,  floating  full  and  free  over  Mexico. 
When  that  day  comes  —  and  its  coming  already 
streaks  the  east  with  light — as  the  hearts  of  Chris- 
tians swell  with  delight,  gazing,  from  abroad  and 
beneath  it,  upon  that  banner  of  peace  and  good-will, 
then  let  them  not  forget  the  name  of  him  whom 
God  so  honoured  as  to  permit,  even  in  old  age,  to  be 
the  first  to  plant  that  banner  upon  the  walls,  at  least, 
of  the  conquered  realm. 

(to  his  wife.) 

"Rio  Grande  City,  January  11///,  1S50. 

"Here  I  am,  high  up  on  the  E-io  Grande.  It  seems 
to  me  to  be,  so  to  speak,  almost  out  of  the  world. 
Only  think!  some  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
from  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and,  perhaps,  nearly 
four  hundred  west  of  San  Antonio.  I  reached  this 
place  about  noon  this  day,  and  can  write  you  but  a 
very  short  letter,  as  the  steamboat  which  takes  the 
letter  will  start  in  a  little  while.    This  is  a  small,  but 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  409 

apparently  flourishing  little  town,  and  I  expect  to 
form  a  Sabbath-school  here,  and  will  probably  remain 
and  preach  until  some  time  next  week,  when  it  is  my 
present  purpose  to  go  on  to  Roma,  a  similar  town 
some  fifteen  miles  higher  up  the  river,  and  shall,  I 
suppose,  spend  one  Sabbath  there,  and  then  I  expect 
to  turn  my  face  homeward,  and  shall  hurry  on  to 
Galveston  with  all  possible  speed.  But,  I  do  assure 
you,  it  is  very  uncertain  when  I  shall  be  able  to  get 
a  passage  from  the  Mouth.  Only  think,  this  is  Janu- 
ary 11th,  and  I  have  not  seen  the  President's  Mes- 
sage yet! God  bless  you,  my  dear  wife, 

and  all  the  members  of  our  little  circle. 

"In  haste,  affectionately, 

Daniel  Baker. 

"  A  prince  from  Germany  is  in  the  room  in  which 
I  am  writing.  He  has  just  shaken  hands  with  me 
in  a  very  cordial  way." 

In,  perhaps,  all  the  places  at  which  he  held  meet- 
ings, he  was  urged  to  send  ministers  out  to  settle  and 
organize  churches,  and  most  liberal  promises  were 
made  of  aid  in  erecting  churches  and  in  supporting 
ministers  who  should  come.  After  his  return  to 
Galveston,  he  received  from  the  same  region  most 
urgent  letters  to  the  same  effect.  The  founders  of 
new  towns  in  the  West,  often  reckless  and  irreligious 
men,  even  infidels,  are  perfectly  aware  that  a  school 
and  a  church  are  essential  to  the  existence,  not  to 
say  respectability  and  prosperity,  of  their  new  "city." 
Hence  their  first  step,  after  laying  out  the  town, 
toward  the  covering  their  lots  with  houses  and 
their  streets  with  citizens,  is  to  obtain  by  liberal 
35 


410  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

inducements  a  resident  teacher  and  preacher.  It  is  a 
resident  preacher  that  is  desired.  In  all  new  towns 
on  our  frontier,  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  it  is  uni- 
versally acknowledged,  effects  far  more  for  the  cause 
of  religion  and  morality  out  of  the  pulpit  than  in  it. 
His  Christian  life,  conversation,  presence — if  he  be 
indeed  a  man  of  God — does  more,  during  his  six 
day's  genial  intermingling  with  the  people,  than  all 
he  can  possibly  say  or  do  upon  the  Sabbath.  Pres- 
byterian ministers  in  new  fields  have  a  strong  ten- 
dency to  "settle  down"  in  one  spot;  this  diminishes 
the  extent,  but  greatly  increases  the  local  strength  of 
their  influence.  Thus,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
the  zealous  circuit-preacher  of  other  denominations, 
worthy  as  he  is  of  all  praise,  and  the  quieter  Presby- 
terian preacher,  work  together  successfully,  each 
doing  a  work  for  wliich  he  is  better  qualified  than 
the  other. 

No  one  had  a  higher  esteem  than  Dr.  Baker  for 
those  noble  servants  of  Christ,  of  other  evangelical 
denominations,  whose  feet  are  so  active  to  follow  the 
backwoodsman  with  the  gospel,  wherever  he  goes, 
even  into  the  very  lair  of  the  wolf  and  lurking  place 
of  the  Indian.  All  honour  to  such  men.  He  who 
has  lived  on  the  frontier  well  knows,  that  along  the 
vast  line  of  westward  emigration,  no  neighbourhood 
of  a  half-dozen  cabins,  no  family  even  in  the  narrow 
home  of  an  emigrant  wagon,  is  ever  ahead  of  the 
preacher  of  the  gospel  of  some  evangelical  denomina- 
tion. Scarcely  have  the  flying  hoofs  of  the  startled 
wild  horse  died  in  the  distance,  before  the  preacher 
is  seen,  Bible  in  hand,  under  the  spreading  live-oak. 
During  the  six  days,  the  ring  of  the  emigrant's  axe, 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  411 

for  the  first  time  since  creation,  fills  the  woods  with 
the  sound  of  falling  trees ;  but  on  the  first  day  of  the 
first  week,  the  same  woods  are  almost  sure  to  awake 
to  the  homely  but  powerful  voice  of  the  circuit-rider, 
making  the  forests  ring  with  the  accents  of  salvation  ; 
and  the  new  settlers  will  assemble  for  worship ;  and 
nowhere  can  be  found  a  manlier  or  more  shrewd 
audience,  even  though  their  eyes  and  ears  are  alert 
during  the  sermon,  for  the  swaying  bush  and  cat-like 
tread  which  betrays  the  approach  of  the  Camanche. 

"  As  I  was  riding  last  week  across  the  prairie  to  an 
appointment,"  said  a  preacher  to  the  writer,  "  I  saw 
a  Camanche,  feathered  and  painted,  coming  right 
down  upon  me,  fast  as  his  horse  could  travel,  lance 
in  rest.  I  had  nothing  but  an  old  umbrella;  so  I 
committed  my  soul  to  God,  and  rode  steadily  on, 
looking  right  in  his  face.  He  came  full  speed  down 
upon  me;  but  just  as  his  lance  was  at  my  breast,  he 
turned  it  aside  and  rode  on,  without  drawing  rein. 
I  never  looked  behiixl,  but  blessed  the  Lord,  and 
rode  on  to  my  appointment." 

How  near  the  subject  of  this  Memoir  came  to  a 
bloody  death  by  these  sons  of  Shem,  driven  back 
before  the  children  of  Japhet,  we  have  already 
seen. 

But  to  resume  our  narrative. 

Arriving  at  the  mouth  of  the  E-io  Grande,  having 
effected  all  in  his  power  as  a  missionary  in  that 
region.  Dr.  Baker  was  kindly  offered  a  free  passage 
in  a  vessel  bound  to  Galveston.  But  it  was  not  to 
sail  for  several  days,  and  being  impatient,  in  this 
crisis  in  the  history  of  the  College,  to  return  at  the 
speediest  moment,  he  embarks  on  a  small  saiHng 


412  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

craft,  manned  by  a  captain  and  one  man,  himself  the 
only  passenger.  The  captain  assnres  him  that  in 
three  days  he  will  land  him  at  Galveston.  They  set 
sail,  when  suddenly  a  Norther  springs  up,  and  the 
frail  bark  is  driven  near  two  hundred  miles  south- 
ward before  it.  After  a  week's  tossing  on  the  short, 
sudden  billows  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  in  conflict  with 
the  fierce  wind,  the  vessel  again  nears  the  coast  at 
Aransas  Bay,  to  be  again  driven  southward.  A 
week  more  passes.  The  wind  abates;  soon  the  land 
is  in  sight,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Sabine,  far  east  of 
their  destination.  It  is  almost  possible  to  throw  a 
biscuit  ashore.  Again  the  Norther  sweeps  down 
upon  them,  and  this  time  the  fragile  shallop  and  its 
three  voyagers  is  driven  helplessly  southward,  far 
from  land,  among  billows  upon  which  the  vessel 
tosses  like  a  nut-shell.  Meanwhile,  the  provisions 
intended  for  a  three  days'  run  have  almost  given 
out,  and  the  water  too,  though  both  these  have  been 
doled  out  with  the  utmost  care,  in  quantities  barely 
suflicient  to  support  life. 

To  add  to  the  trouble,  the  captain  finds  that  the 
only  man  he  has  shipped  as  his  crew,  pretended  to 
be  a  sailor  only  to  secure  a  passage  to  Galveston, 
knows  nothing  whatever  about  even  handling  a  rope, 
much  less  holding  the  helm.  Frantic  with-  rage 
from  the  first,  the  captain  curses  and  beats  his  man 
during  all  hours  of  the  day.  As  the  passenger  can 
render  no  assistance,  he  remains  under  deck,  in  the 
miserable  little  berth.  The  deck  is  but  a  few  inches 
over  his  face  as  he  lies,  and  during  the  raging  of 
the  storm,  he  hears  the  furious  cursing  of  the  cap- 
tain, and  the  heavy  blows  which  he  inflicts  upon 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  413 

his  only  assistant.  In  the  morning,  as  he  stands 
upon  the  careened  and  slippery  deck,  he  sees  it 
spattered  with  the  blood  of  the  beaten  man.  The 
storm  rages  more  and  more.  At  last  the  captain 
announces  to  his  passenger  that  they  must  go  down; 
and  falling  on  his  knees,  with  his  arm  around  the 
straining  mast,  the  man  calls  loudly  upon  the  Virgin 
for  help,  vowing  the  largest  candles  for  her  altar,  if 
once  he  is  permitted  to  land.  Dr.  Baker  remarks  to 
the  man,  that  giving  up  his  profanity  and  ferocity 
would  be  far  more  acceptable  to  the  God  of  the 
storm;  and  then  descends,  lies  in  his  berth,  and 
calmly  resigns  himself  to  the  will  of  God.  "Never, 
in  all  my  life,"  he  afterwards  remarked  to  the  writer, 
"did  I  feel  more  perfectly  calm  than  when  I  ex- 
pected each  plunge  of  the  vessel  would  be  to  the 
bottom.  I  was  enabled  by  prayer  to  acquiesce  en- 
tirely in  the  will  of  God.  Was  I  not  in  the  path 
of  duty  r 

But  God  has  work  still  for  his  aged  servant. 
Many  hundreds  of  souls  are  at  that  moment  far 
from  the  Saviour,  whom  he  is  to  be  made  the  instru- 
ment of  leading  to  Christ ;  and  not  yet  is  the  College 
in  that  condition  to  dispense  with  the  labours  of 
this  man  of  God.  Again  the  storm  subsides  at  the 
divine  command,  and  after  an  almost  unparalleled 
tempest  of  three  weeks  upon  the  raging  gulf,  in  a 
bark  almost  too  frail  for  use  on  a  peaceful  lake, 
reduced  to  their  last  atom  of  food  and  drop  of  water, 
the  passenger  is  permitted  to  land  once  more,  but 
north  of  the  Sabine,  far  from  his  port.  A  few  days 
more,  and  he  arrives  safely  in  the  bosom  of  his 
family,  in  his  usual  health  and  spirits,  all  the  more 
35* 


414  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

ready  from  gratitude  to  God  for  whatever  duties 
lie  before  him.  He  had  purchased  in  Matamoras, 
among  other  Mexican  curiosities,  a  few  polonces^ 
sugar  cones  wrapped  in  shucks  of  corn,  for  his  family, 
and  these  he  brought  with  him  safely;  even  hunger 
could  not  force  him  to  use  them;  it  was  character- 
istic. 

It  should  be  added,  that  the  captain,  though 
rough  in  his  manners,  like  most  men  of  his  profes- 
sion, was  nevertheless  both  kind  and  respectful  to 
his  passenger,  whose  very  aspect  awed  and  restrained 
even  the  rudest.  After  landing,  he  draughted  and 
presented  to  his  passenger  a  chart  of  the  tortuous 
course  they  had  sailed.  In  memory  of  those  perilous 
hours,  Dr.  Baker  caused  this  chart  to  be  handsomely 
copied  and  hung  upon  the  walls  of  his  study,  where 
it  still  remains,  both  a  curiosity  and  a  precious 
memento  of  him  whose  life's  voyage  is  now  ended, 
and  whose  sails  are  for  ever  furled  in  the  haven  of 
eternal  rest. 

Autobiography  continued. 

The  charter  was  signed  by  Gov.  Wood  on  the  22d 
day  of  November,  1849,  and  the  first  meeting  of  the 
Trustees  was  held  in  Hunts ville  on  the  5  th  of  April, 
1850.  "Present:  Daniel  Baker,  H.  Smither,  J.  Hume, 
G.  C.  Heed.  H.  Yoakum,  J.  Branch,  Sam  Houston,  by 
his  proxy  H.  Yoakum,  H.  Wilson,  and  J.  C.  Smith, 
by  his  proxy  S.  E.  Smith."  On  motion,  I  was  ap- 
pointed President  j)ro  tern.  The  next  day,  A.  J. 
Burke  and  J.  W.  Miller  appeared,  and  also  took 
their  seats  as  members.  The  Uev.  S.  McKinney, 
whom  I  had  urged  to  come  to  Texas  from  Holly 
vSprings,  and  for  whom  I  had  obtained  the  situation 


KEY.   DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  415 

of  teacher  in  the  Male  Institute  in  Huntsville,  was 
present,  and  was  elected  President  of  the  College. 
At  this  meeting  of  the  Board,  the  site  for  the  college 
building  was  fixed  upon.  Two  places  had  been 
offered — Capitol  Hill,  on  the  south,  and  Cotton-Gin 
Hill,  on  the  north  of  the  to^vn.  I  had,  in  my  own 
mind,  fixed  upon  the  latter  place;  and  supposing 
there  might  be  a  few  votes  against  it,  and  wishing 
the  vote  in  favour  to  be  recorded  as  unanimous,  I 
rose  up  and  made  a  speech,  stating  how  important 
was  unanimity  in  the  case  before  us,  and  expressing 
a  desire  that  when  the  will  of  the  majority  was 
ascertained,  the  minority  would  yield  with  a  good 
grace.  Col.  H.  and  Dr.  B.  were  the  only  ones  that  I 
supposed  would  vote  for  Capitol  Hill.  They  sat  in 
front  of  me ;  and  when  I  expressed  an  earnest  hope 
that  the  minority,  upon  the  will  of  the  majority 
being  ascertained,  would  yield,  I  thought  Col.  H. 
and  Dr.  B.  looked  as  though  that  would  be  a  bitter 
pill  for  them  to  swallow.  Well,  the  vote  was  taken, 
and  lo  and  behold,  Capitol  Hill  carried  the  day  by 
an  overwhelming  majority!  I  was  left  nearly  soli- 
tary and  alone  in  my  vote.  Immediately  there  was 
a  roar  of  laughter,  and  every  eye  was  turned  upon 
me,  to  see  how  I  would  take  the  pill  intended  for 
others.  Without  a  wry  face,  however,  I  complied 
with  my  own  prescription,  and  swallowed  it  down. 
"Gentlemen,"  said  I,  "I  am  an  American,  every 
inch  of  me.  Let  the  majority  ride.  You  have  seen 
proper  to  make  choice  of  Capitol  Hill.  Be  it  so;  I 
yield.     Let  Capitol  Hill  be  the  site  of  our  College." 

On  the  6th  of  April,  1850,  I  was  appointed  Per- 
manent General  Agent,  with  a  salary  of  one  thousand 


41 G  LIFE  AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

dollars  per  annum.  Shortly  after  my  appointment, 
I  received  first  a  verbal,  and  some  weeks  after,  a 
written  communication  from  the  Rev.  B.  Chase,  of 
Natchez,  Mississippi,  stating  that  he  had  some  lands 
in  Texas,  which  he  was  willing  to  donate  to  Austin 
College.  This  was  as  the  rising  of  the  morning  star 
upon  our  noble  enterprise;  it  cheered  us  greatly.  A 
few  days  after  my  appointment,  I  set  out  upon  my 
first  tour,  and  was  absent  from  home  some  seven  or 
eight  months. 

During  this,  as  during  all  his  absences,  Dr.  Baker 
seized  every  opportunity  to  write  to  his  family,  ex- 
tracts from  which  letters  are  inserted  in  their  order. 
On  the  shaking  table  of  the  steamer,  at  the  hotel, 
at  the  roadside  cabin,  by  the  fireside  of  a  friend,  at 
every  chance  interval  of  rapid  travel — at  any  moment 
when,  glowing  from  the  street,  the  parlour,  or  the 
pulpit,  he  could  get  the  opportunity,  he  would  dash 
ofi"  a  running  account  of  passing  events.  His  letters 
teem  with  a  thousand  various  plans,  and  hopes,  and 
brilliant  expectations  in  regard  to  the  College. 
What  if  many  of  these  came  to  nought— blossoms 
blooming  their  moment,  then  falling  to  the  ground, 
bearing  in  their  wilted  bosom  their  abortive  promise 
of  fruit'? — faster  than  they  perished,  other  plans, 
hopes,  and  expectations  arose  in  his  rapid  career, 
blotting  out  even  the  memory  of  disappointments. 
Every  letter  fairly  overflows  with  his  own  happy  and 
sparkling  spirit.  Unless  absolutely  necessary,  un- 
pleasant tilings  he  never  mentioned — why  should 
he?  The  manifold  disagreeable  incidents  insepara- 
ble from  such  an  agency  as  his,  are  thrown  into  the 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  417 

shade  completely,  as  fast  as  they  occur,  by  the  pleas- 
ing incidents  which  sprang  incessantly  from  under 
his  active  hand  like  sparks  from  under  the  hammer 
of  the  smith.  A  letter  from  him  was  eagerly  opened, 
with  a  confident  feeling  of  pleasure  as  to  the  un- 
known contents ;  much  as  one  breaks  from  off  a  box 
of  precious  ointment  a  seal  bearing  a  well-known 
and  approved  stamp — the  exhilarating  contents  could 
be  certainly  counted  upon — the  spirit  of  almost  rap- 
turous piety  as  a  matter  of  course. 

It  was  intended  to  prepare  a  list  of  the  places 
visited  by  Dr.  Baker  while  travelling  as  agent  for 
Austin  College;  but  this  was  found  impossible;  the 
points  are  too  numerous,  and  his  movements  were 
too  rapid.  During  his  long  career  from  his  entrance 
into  the  ministry,  as  an  evangelist,  missionary,  pastor, 
and  agent,  he  held  meetings  in  hundreds  of  places 
over  all  portions  of  the  Union,  of  which  there  is  little 
or  no  mention  made  in  this  volume.  Throughout 
this  work,  it  has  been  the  care  of  the  compiler  to 
condense  into  as  smaU  a  compass  as  possible  this 
narrative  of  the  life  and  labours  of  his  father.  Will 
he  be  pardoned  if  he  says,  that  there  is  such  a 
warmth,  and  depth,  and  ever-fluctuating,  ever-spark- 
ling ocean-swell  in  the  history  of  such  a  man,  as  to 
make  the  keeping  that  history  within  due  bounds 
the  most  difficult  part  of  his  whole  undertaking. 

The  letters  from  which  extracts  are  made  below 
are  used  with  reluctance,  and  only  because  they  fur- 
nish almost  the  only  history  of  the  work  of  grace 
under  his  preaching.  Apart  from  the  instrument 
used  by  God,  and  leaving  him  out  of  considera- 
tion entirely,  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  nar- 


418  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

rated  in  these  letters,  is  worthy  of  record  for  its  own 
sake,  and  to  His  glory.  And  let  the  reader  bear  in 
mind,  that  these  were  letters  written  by  a  husband 
and  father,  in  the  unreserved  confidence  of  a  warm 
heart — never  intended  for  the  eyes  of  any  but  the 
beloved  ones  to  whom  they  were  addressed.  A  large 
part  of  each  letter  has  necessarily  to  be  suppressed, 
for  family  and  other  reasons.  This  must  account 
for  and  excuse  the  mutilated  appearance  of  the  ex- 
tracts. 

Early  one  spring  morning,  the  stage  drove  to  his 
door  at  Huntsville.  The  writer  assisted  him  into  it, 
shook  hands  with  him,  and  was  about  to  close  the 
stage-door,  no  longer  to  detain  the  impatient  driver, 
and  still  more  impatient  horses.  But,  again  grasping 
the  hand  of  his  son,  the  father  drew  him  toward  him, 
and  said,  in  subdued  and  rapid  tones,  "  My  son,  my 
dear  son,  I  may  never  return;  if  so,  remember  you 
are  a  servant  of  Christ.  Be  sure  you  give  your  whole 
heart  to  the  work — good-by:"  and  the  stage  rolled 
rapidly  away,  bearing  him  off  as  agent  of  the  College, 
upon  his  first  tour. 

"New  Orleans,  May  Qth,  1S50. 

"My  dear  Susan — I  am  just  on  the  wing  for  Cin- 
cinnati. I  am  happy  to  inform  you  that  I  meet  with 
smiles  on  every  hand.  The  College  enterprise  is 
considered  a  noble  one.  Some  persons  subscribe  for 
the  sake  of  learning  and  Texas,  and  some  because  of 
their  friendship  for  me,  and  the  remembrance  of 
days  gone  by.  I  could  mention  some  very  touching 
things;  but  suffice  it  to  say,  I  did  not  know  that  the 
poor  old  Texan  missionary  had  so  many  warm  friends 


I 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  419 

in  other  places.  Eeally,  I  meet  with  so  many  marks 
of  respect  and  affection,  that  I  can  scarcely  realize  I 
am  the  same  person  who  wandered  in  the  prairies 
and  wilds  of  Texas.  But  the  best  of  it  is,  to  have 
my  spiritual  children,  of  whom  I  had  previously  no 
knowledge,  taking  me  by  the  hand,  aijd  expressing 
their  overflowing  gratitude  for  benefits  received,  by 
my  instrumentality,  so  many  years  ago.  God  be 
thanked !  God  be  thanked,  that  I  ever  was  permitted 
to  preach  to  dying  sinners  the  unspeakable  riches  of 
Christ! 

"  I  have  succeeded  in  my  agency  far  beyond  my 
most  sanguine  expectations.  Besides  remitting  three 
hundred  and  seventy-seven  dollars,  there  are  good 
subscriptions  for  something  like  five  or  six  hundred 
dollars  more.  The  bell  of  the  steamboat  is  about  to 
ring,  so,  with  much  love  to  all,  I  subscribe  myself, 
"  Yours,  most  affectionately, 

Daniel  Baker." 

Dr.  Baker  proceeded  to  Brooklyn,  where  he  sup- 
plied for  a  time  the  pulpit  of  Dr.  Jacobus,  then  in 
Europe  for  his  health.  A  gentleman,  in  whose  amia- 
ble family  he  was  a  guest  at  this  time,  thus  speaks, 
among  other  remarks,  in  a  letter  to  the  compiler  of 
this  volume : 

"It  was  in  the  year  1850  your  father  became  an 
inmate  of  my  family,  for  the  short  period  of  three  or 
four  weeks,  at  which  time  we  saw  much  of  that 
Christian  character  which  so  adorned  his  whole  life. 
While  far  away  from  his  home  it  could  not  be  said 
he  was  among  strangers,  for  his  bearing  was  such, 
that  a  very  short  acquaintance  made  him  a  friend 


420  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

among  friends.  What  made  him  so  especially  dear 
to  us,  was  that  cheerful  Christian  spirit  which  was 
so  manifest  in  all  his  walk  and  conversation.  Few 
could  help  being  drawn  towards  him ;  even  the  child, 
to  whom  he  became  as  a  child.  His  prayers  were 
those  of  a  man  of  God,  sincere  and  earnest,  and,  I 
think,  were  not  uttered  in  vain  for  those  who  had 
the  privilege  of  enjoying  them.  Well  may  it  be 
said — for  him  to  live  was  Christ.  With  every 
member  of  my  family  an  attachment  was  formed 
which  is  cherished  to  this  day,  and  the  little  me- 
mentoes he  left  with  them  are  more  prized  than 
jewels." 

Yes,  with  a  sweeter  influence,  and  clearer  evi- 
dence, and  stronger  logic  than  is  found  in  even  his 
ablest  sermon,  his  daily  life  was  a  beautiful  and  per- 
petual recommendation  of  the  religion  he  preached. 
In  the  circles  in  which  he  was  most  intimately 
known,  was  he  most  frequently  and  triumphantly 
quoted  as  a  living  and  irresistible  proof  of  the  truth 
and  efficacy  of  religion !  Himself  a  daily  illustration 
of,  and  running  commentary  upon,  the  gospel,  he 
effected  as  much  for  his  great  Exemplar  by  his  life 
as  by  his  labours.  Often  have  men  of  the  world 
exclaimed  of  him  when  disgusted  by  the  inconsisten- 
cies of  other  professors,  "Well,  here,  at  least,  is  one 
man  who  is  a  Christian." 

He  thus  writes  to  his  wife : 

"Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  September  21th,  1850. 

u  *  *  *  Jenny  Lind  is  gone  to  Boston,  where 
great  preparations  are  made  to  receive  her.  I  must 
tell  you  a  thing  or  two.    The  room  at  Castle-Garden, 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  421 

where  she  has  been  giving  her  concerts,  is  said  to  be 
the  most  spacious  in  the  United  States ;  and  yet 
every  night,  it  is  supposed  that  nearly  nine  thousand 
persons  were  present,  besides  a  great  crowd  around 
the  house,  and  how  many  on  the  house,  I  cannot 
teU! 

"She  sings  admirably,  but  after  all,  I  suspect  the 
angels  can  beat  her!  and  if  you  compare  her  con- 
certs in  Castle-Garden  with  the  concert  of  saints 
and  angels  as  recorded  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  the 
book  of  llevelation,  you  will  perceive  that  earth 
cannot  compete  with  heaven.  O,  heaven !  sweet 
heaven!  how  bright  and  resplendent  will  be  thy 
scenes  of  glory!  and  how  unutterable  and  thrilling 
thy  never-ending  joys  !  Here  we  are  astonished  at 
looking  at  a  mass  of  eight  thousand  persons  assem- 
bled in  one  concert-room;  but  how  far  does  this  fall 
short  of  those  assembled  around  the  throne  in  hea- 
ven! A  great  company  of  the  redeemed  which  no 
man  can  number,  and  besides  these,  only  think  how 
many  angels — ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  and 
thousands  of  thousands! — all  robed  and  crowned! 
all  singing  the  praises  of  God  and  the  Lamb,  with 
voices  loud  as  thunder,  and  each  voice  even  incom- 
parably sweeter  than  that  of  Jenny  Lind!  O,  who 
would  not  be  a  Christian!  Who  would  not  wish 
to  go  to  heaven!" 

It  may  be  added  here,  that  Dr.  Baker  sent,  at  this 
time,  a  volume  of  his  "  Sermons"  handsomely  bound 
to  the  Queen  of  Song,  accompanied  by  a  note.  The 
letter  written  to  him  by  her  in  reply,  is  a  beautiful 
one,  and  indicative  of  a  pious  heart. 
36 


422  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

Writing  to  a  son,  he  says: 

"Philadelphia,  October  19ih,  1850. 

"I  am  at  last  on  the  wing,  and  thus  far  on  my 
way  home.  A  gentleman  in  Brooklyn,  rich  and 
liberal,  who  would  not  give  me  a  cent  for  Austin 
College,  nevertheless  subscribed  one  thousand  dollars 
for  the  building  of  a  church  in  Huntsville,  on  con- 
dition that  Texas  pays  her  bonds  to  him  for  money 
advanced.  This  subscription  he  gave  me  when  Texas 
was  likely  to  go  off  at  a  tangent.  After  the  action 
of  Congress  touching  the  ten  million  affair,  I  went 
to  this  gentleman  and  remarked,  'Mr.  L.,  I  have  a 
laugh  upon  you,  sir;  you  subscribed  one  thousand 
dollars,  I  suspect,  under  the  influence  of  despair,  but 
General  Houston  says  that  the  money  which  you 
advanced  to  the  Texan  Government  will  certainly  be 
repaid.  And,  sir,'  continued  I,  'you  will  have  to 
fork  over  your  thousand.'  'Very  well,'  said  he,  'I 
am  ready,  on  the  condition  stipulated;  and  Dr.  Baker, 
let  me  see  your  paper  again.'  I  handed  it  to  him, 
and  he  wrote  as  follows :  '  And  also,  now  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States  has  placed  the  means  in 
the  hands  of  the  State  to  enable  her  to  pay  those 
bonds,  another  thousand  dollars  for  the  same  purpose, 
on  the  same  conditions,  either  to  be  added  to  the 
former,  or  to  be  applied  to  building  another  Presby- 
terian church  in  Texas,  as  the  Presbyterian  Synod  or 
Presbytery  may  deem  best,  both  sums  to  be  paid  as 
soon  as  I  shall  obtain  payment  of  the  bonds.' 

"  On  Wednesday  evening  last  we  had  a  grand 
meeting  in  the  Central  Presbyterian  church  in  this 
city,  designed  to  wake  up  a  new  interest  in  the  cause 
of  Domestic  Missions.     Drs.  Jones,  Plumer,  and  my- 


REY.   DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  423 

self  were  the  selected  speakers.  We  had  a  crowded 
house.  I  was  somewhat  intimidated,  but  had  much 
more  freedom  than  I  expected.  I  will  tell  you  how 
I  commenced,  and  then  you  may  guess  what  I  said. 
'  This  is  an  interesting  scene;  this  is  an  interesting 
occasion;  it  is  worth  an  angel's  visit  from  the  skies; 
and,  as  Paul  once  said,  that  it  was  not  expedient  for 
him  doubtless  to  glory,  but  he  would  come  to  visions 
and  revelations  of  the  Lord ;  so  would  I  say  this  even- 
ing— it  is  not  expedient  for  me  doubtless  to  make  a 
speech,  for  that  is  out  of  my  line;  I  choose  rather, 
in  a  plain  and  simple  way,  to  tell  you  of  what  I  have 
seen  and  heard  in  waste  places  and  frontier  lands. 
Permit  me,  then,  to  take  you  by  the  hand,  so  to 
speak,  and  lead  you  along  with  me  in  some  of  my 
missionary  tours.'  I  then  laid  before  my  audience 
some  of  the  most  interesting  and  heart-stirring  events 
which  had  fallen  under  my  own  observation.  I  had 
some  freedom;  the  people  smiled,  and  the  people 
wept;  and  I  think  a  very  happy  impression  was 
made.  Dr.  Jones  made  a  very  beautiful  address.  I 
wish  we  had  a  few  Plumers  in  Texas,  and  also  a 
pretty  smart  sprinkling  of  men  of  the  stamp  of  my 
own  countryman,  Charles  Colcock  Jones.  Heaven 
multiply  and  bless  such  men! 

"Eemember  me  kindly  to  all — Your  ever  affec- 
tionate father." 

The  noble  donation  of  two  thousand  dollars  alluded 
to  was  in  due  time  paid  as  promised ;  one  thousand 
went  toward  erecting  the  present  beautiful  church  in 
Huntsville;  the  other  thousand — Mr.  Lamar  con- 
senting— by  a  unanimous  vote  of  the  Synod  of  Texas, 


424  LIFE  AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

at  its  first  meeting,  which  was  held  in  Austin,  1851, 
was  devoted  to  the  church  there.  The  name  of  the 
munificent  donor  will  live  for  ever  in  the  religious 
as  well  as  political  annals  of  Texas. 

Dr.  Baker  thus  writes  to  his  wife: 

"Wilmington,  N.  C,  Nov.  1th,  1850. 

"There  are  some  ugly  things  connected  with  my 
agency;  for  the  work  of  begging  has  in  itself  no 
charms;  and  when  I  meet  with  repulses  and  rebuff's, 
and  sometimes  almost  insults,  I  might  be  tempted  to 
give  up  almost  in  disgust.  At  any  rate,  I  might 
make  myself  very  unhappy.  But  no;  I  am  deter- 
mined to  be  happy  in  my  employment,  and  happy 
I  am.  Indeed,  notwithstanding  many  undesirable 
things,  I  believe  I  scarcely  ever  was  happier  in  all 
my  life,  especially  now,  as  home  begins  to  loom  up 
before  my  eyes.  I  have  been  urged  to  remain  and 
preach  here  all  this  week,  and  was  told  that  if  I  did, 
one  hundred  dollars  would  be  given  for  Austin  Col- 
lege. I  have  consented,  and  I  am  happy  to  say  we 
have  at  this  time  very  pleasing  indications  of  the 
divine  presence — every  prospect  of  a  blessed  work 
of  grace." 

Daniel  Baker." 

Speaking,  in  a  letter  to  his  son  at  Austin,  of  the 
trials  of  ministers  in  Texas  on  account  of  inadequate 
support,  he  proceeds: 

"Savannah,  Nov.  I8th,  1850. 

"  Paul,  you  know,  describes  Christ  as  one  '  who, 
though  he  was  rich,  for  our  sakes  became  poor,  that 
we  through  his  poverty  might  be  rich.'     And  how 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  425 

touchiiigly  does  our  blessed  Saviour  allude  to  this 
very  thing:  'The  foxes  have  holes,  and  the  birds  of 
the  air  have  nests,  but  the  Son  of  Man  hath  not 
where  to  lay  his  head.'  And  John,  referring  to  a 
certain  occasion,  says:  'Every  man  went  unto  his 
own  house,  but  Jesus  went  to  the  Mount  of  Olives.' 
Blessed  Jesus!  The  poorest  in  the  great  crowd  of 
his  hearers  had  some  house;  but  Jesus  had  none. 
So,  when  every  man  went  unto  his  own  house,  Jesus 
went  to  the  Mount  of  Olives.  Methinks  this  gives 
a  charm  to  poverty;  at  least,  it  may  well  serve  to 
reconcile  ministers  to  'limited  circumstances.'  You 
recollect  my  remark — 'We  have  no  feathered  nests 
in  Texas,  but  we  have  fields  of  usefulness.'  Some 
persons  show  much  love  with  their  tongue,  but  when 
the  hour  of  trial  comes,  their  hearts  fail.  Like  cer- 
tain characters,  wonderfully  patriotic — willing  to 
shed  the  last  drop  of  blood  in  their  veins;  but  when 
the  occasion  ofi'ers,  are  found  not  willing  to  shed  the 
first. 

"I  have  set  my  heart  upon  making  Huntsville, 
as  far  as  I  have  influence,  the  Athens  of  Texas,  in 
building  up  there  a  College  of  high  character,  one 
that  shall  be  a  credit  to  Texas,  and  an  honour  to 
the  Presbyterian  name.  Yesterday  I  preached  three 
times,  and  I  am  to  preach  again  to-night.  I  spent 
two  Sabbaths  in  Wilmington,  preached  some  seven- 
teen sermons,  and  I  am  happy  to  say  that  it  pleased 
God  to  bless  my  labours.  Some  twelve  or  fifteen 
persons  were  hopefully  converted,  and  a  wave  of 
happy  influences  seemed  to  be  spreading  on  every 
hand.  Without  making  scarcely  an  eflbrt,  I  received 
there  one  hundred  and  seventeen  dollars  for  Austin 
36* 


426  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

College,  besides   making   a   good   impression.     My 
paper  is  full.     God  bless  you,  my  son  and  daughter. 

Daniel  Baker." 

"Savannah,  November  26th,  1850. 

"My  own  Daughter — ^You  cannot  imagine  what 
a  cordial  reception  I  have  met  with  in  Savannah.  I 
have  been  here  about  ten  days,  and  I  was  almost 
overwhelmed  with  kindness.  Not  in  Savannah  only, 
but  wherever  I  go,  I  meet  with  warm  hearts  and 
smiling  countenances.  Why,  really,  I  am  led  to 
think,  or  at  least  I  am  tempted  to  think,  I  am  '  some- 
body.' But  I  know  too  well  my  unworthiness  in 
the  sight  of  God,  to  be  lifted  up.  No,  no,  the  dust 
is  my  place,  and  the  plea  of  the  Publican  is  my  plea. 
People  here  come  out  in  crowds.  Last  night,  I  am 
told,  more  than  a  hundred  had  to  go  away,  not  being 
able  to  procure  a  seat.  I  do  think  good  and  deep 
impressions  have  been  made;  and  if  a  protracted 
meeting  were  now  held,  the  results  would  be  great, 
would  be  glorious. 

"I  wish  you  all  to  be  just  as  happy  as  the  days 
are  long,  particularly  when  I  am  absent.  I  wish  you 
all,  in  some  way  or  other,  to  be  compensated  for  the 
absence  of  the  head  of  the  family.  You  may  expect 
your  old  father  to  kiss  you  in  about  twelve  days 
from  this  time.     Love  to  all. 

Daniel  Baker." 

Pesuming  his  autobiography,  we  find  the  following 
summing  up: 

During  this  tour,  amongst  other  places,  I  visited 
Houston,  Galveston,  New  Orleans,  Memphis,  Cin- 
cinnati, Philadelphia,  Wilkesbarre,  Princeton,  New 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  427 

York,  Albany,  Easton,  New  Brunswick,  Newark, 
Brooklyn,  Wilmington,  Washington  City,  Baltimore, 
Georgetown,  Savannah,  Augusta,  Freehold,  and  Mo- 
bile. On  this  tour  I  obtained  books,  maps,  globes, 
and  subscriptions  in  money  to  the  amount  of  four 
thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  dollars.  With 
regard  to  the  land,  I  did  this:  I  went  to  Natchez, 
saw  brother  Chase,  and  received  from  him  a  relin- 
quishment of  all  the  lands  which  he  owned  in  Texas, 
amounting  to  nearly  fifteen  thousand  acres.  A  large 
bundle  of  papers  was  placed  in  my  hands ;  and  as  I 
was  no  lawyer,  I  confess  it  was  a  bundle  of  riddles 
to  me.  I  looked  over  the  papers,  and  for  my  life  T 
could  not  tell  whether  the  titles  were  good  or  not; 
but  I  thought  if  I  had  not  legal  knowledge  enough 
to  find  out  the  value  of  the  papers,  I  would  borrow 
some.     So,  getting  into  a  buggy  with  brother  Chase, 

away  we  went  to  College,  about  eight  miles 

from  Natchez,  the  President  of  which  had  for  many 
years  been  a  lawyer  in  Texas,  and  was  the  very  man 
who  could  tell  us  all  about  the  affair.  This  gentle- 
man, Mr.  Green,  was  a  friend  of  mine ;  and  at  my 
request  he  took  the  papers,  and  within  an  hour  he 
handed  them  back,  informing  me  that  all  was  right, 
or  nearly  so;  but  certain  things  required  prompt 
attention,  or  there  might  be  some  serious  loss.  I 
thanked  him  for  his  services — he  would  receive 
nothing  more — and  taking  back  the  papers,  I  laid 
them  aside  in  my  trunk  as  a  treasure. 

Upon  my  return  to  Texas,  I  set  about  straighten- 
ing matters,  and,  with  the  help  of  friends,  succeeded 
in  securing  lands  to  the  College  valued  at  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars.     This  has  proved  a  great  affair 


428  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

for  US ;  for,  when  pressed,  we  have  from  time  to  time 
sold  some,  amounting  in  all  to  about  three  thousand 
dollars;  and  still  the  land  remaining  is  worth,  by- 
reason  of  enhanced  prices,  as  much  as  the  whole 
originally  was;  nay,  is  now  valued  at  thirty  thousand 
dollars.  I  repeat  it,  this  has  been  a  great  affair  for 
us,  enabling  us  in  our  policy  to  be  bold,  without 
being  rash.  We  can  give  good  salaries,  and  in  case 
of  pecuniary  difficulty,  we  can  fall  back  upon  our 
landed  treasure.  God  be  thanked  for  raising  up  a 
friend  at  the  outset,  who  has,  by  his  liberality,  placed 
us  in  circumstances  so  favourable  to  the  success  of 
our  enterprise. 

Leaving  Huntsville  in  the  spring  of  1851,  he  goes 
out  on  a  second  tour  to  solicit  aid  for  the  College. 
The  first  letter  written  during  this  absence,  from 
which  we  quote,  is  addressed  to  his  wife,  and  dated 

*' Wharf-Boat,  Memphis,  May  ]3th,  1851. 

"My  dear  Eliza — Another  scrawl.  I  have  visit- 
ed Vicksburg,  Jackson,  Yazoo  City,  and  Memphis. 
Last  Sabbath  morning  I  preached  for  brother  Coons, 
I  am  just  waiting  for  a  boat  for  St.  Louis.  Cholera 
has  broken  out  in  this  place;  I  believe  three  or  four 
persons  died  yesterday,  and  two  last  night — one  a 
young  man  who  eat  his  supper  in  good  health — this 

morning  a  corpse!     The  sexton  of  the church 

rang  the  bell  last  night,  and  about  three  hours  after 
the  services  closed,  was  in  the  arms  of  death.  What 
poor  creatures  we  all  are! — how  important  to  be 
ready  to  go  at  any  moment.  You  need  not  be  un- 
easy, my  dear  E.,  on  my  account;  I  am  in  the  hands 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  429 

of  a  Being  who  is  infinitely  wise  and  good,  and,  as 
the  saying  is,  'I  am  immortal  till  my  work  is  done.' 

"  Last  Sabbath  morning  I  preached  from  the  words, 
'  As  for  me,  I  will  behold  thy  face  in  righteousness ; 
I  shall  be  satisfied  when  I  awake  in  thy  likeness.' 
Had  unusual  freedom;  many  of  the  congregation 
were  completely  melted  down;  one  lady  was  quite 
overcome,  and  shouted  aloud.  O  what  a  blessed 
thing  it  is  to  be  a  Christian,  and  to  have  heaven  in 
full  view!  My  dear  E.,  let  us  try  to  be  more  en- 
gaged— '  O  for  a  closer  walk  with  God !' 

"What  a  helter-skelter  letter  this  is.  When  I  am 
in  more  favourable  circumstances  I  may  do  better;  I 
thought  a  few  scratches  of  your  old  husband's  pen 
would  be  better  than  to  hear  those  ugly  words  com- 
ino:  from  the  Post-Office — no  letter,  but  I  hear  the 
puffing  of  a  steamboat — ^love  to  all,  all,  all. 
"  Yours,  affectionately, 

Daniel  Baker." 

He  writes  again  to  a  son: 

"St.  Louis,  Missouri,  May  27//?,  1851. 

"My  dear  Son — Our  General  Assembly  closed  its 
sessions  last  night.  We  have  had  a  most  delightful 
meeting — no  judicial  case  of  any  importance,  no 
unkind  feeling,  no  harsh  remark;  every  thing  har- 
monious and  pleasant.  I  think  the  impression  made 
in  families,  in  churches,  and  on  the  community,  de- 
cidedly good.  I  preached  five  times,  and  made  four 
Sabbath-school  addresses.  One  was  on  occasion  of 
what  was  called  'The  Floral  celebration;'  nearly 
one  thousand  children  were  present,  with  many 
beautiful   banners.      It  proved    a  very   interesting 


430  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

occasion,  and  I  hope  some  good  was  done.  Dr. 
Humphrey  preached  the  sermon  on  Domestic  Mis- 
sions ;  it  was  a  masterly  affair.  Dr.  Plumer  preached 
the  sermon  on  Popery;  the  sermon  occupied  about 
two  hours  in  its  dehvery,  and  proved  beyond  all 
doubt  the  gross  and  palpable  idolatry  of  the  Papal 
Church.  The  argument  was  powerful,  was  triumph- 
ant! and,  as  the  house  was  crowded  to  overflow- 
ing, I  think  the  sermon  will  not  soon  be  forgotten. 
There  was,  I  am  told,  quite  a  'smart  sprinkling'  of 
Papists  present.  The  next  sermon  on  Popery  is  to 
be  preached  by  Dr.  Alexander;  and  on  Domestic 
Missions,  by  your  father.  The  proposition  for  build- 
ing a  large  Presbyterian  church  in  Washington  City 
was,  to  the  perfect  astonishment  of  many,  indefinitely 
postponed. 

"But  what  perhaps  will  interest  and  please  you 
more  than  all,  is  this:  the  General  Assembly  has 
erected  the  Synod  of  Texas,  and  fixed  upon  Austin 
as  the  place  of  its  first  meeting,  and  the  last  Thurs- 
day in  October  as  the  time. 

"  You  see  what  a  scrawl  this  is !  Positively,  I  can 
scarcely  write  at  all;  but  certainly,  as  an  affectionate 
son,  you  will  excuse  your  old  father. 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  the  same.) 

"Steamboat  Crescent,  near  N.  O.,  August  15M,  1851. 

"My  dear  Son — You  see  I  am  already  upon  my 
return  to  Texas.  My  tour  has,  upon  the  whole, 
been  quite  successful,  say  something  more  than  two 
thousand  dollars  in  money  subscriptions.  Besides 
this,  the   'Texas   Emigrating   Land   Company,'   of 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  431 

Louisville,  Kentucky,  have  donated  to  Austin  Col- 
lege one  thousand  dollars  in  a  certain  contingency, 
with  the  probability  of  that  amount  being  trebled. 
Surely  the  Lord  has  been  very  good  to  me  in  giving 
me  and  the  cause  which  I  advocate  favour  in  the 
eyes  of  the  people,  although  I  am  so  little  qualified 
for  the  work  in  which  I  am  engaged.  Moreover,  the 
providence  of  God  appears  to  have  been  propitious 
in  other  respects.  Last  week  I  had  some  thought  of 
stopping  at  Paducah  to  spend  the  Sabbath,  when  lo ! 
there  came  on  a  most  tremendous  squall  or  tornado, 
which  more  or  less  injured  some  six  or  eight  steam- 
boats lying  at  the  wharf;  of  which  number  some 
were  completely  wrecked,  and  some  were  sunk,  car- 
rying down  to  the  bottom  all  on  board.  It  is  not 
known  how  many  lives  were  lost,  but  thirty  is  sup- 
posed to  be  a  low  estimate.  I  saw  the  clouds  rising. 
They  really  looked  frightful,  and  I  predicted  that 
the  destruction  would  be  great  somewhere.  A  little 
after  this,  I  saw  what  might  be  called  the  careering 
of  the  storm.  Its  chariot  of  cloud  or  dust,  I  could 
not  tell  which,  seemed  to  be  rolling  across  the  Mis- 
sissippi, upon  the  very  bosom  of  its  waters,  and  not 
more  than  a  mile  distant.  The  wings  of  the  tem- 
pest fanned  us,  and  the  roughened  waters  caused  our 
boat  to  prance  a  little;  but  we  were,  providentially, 
out  of  the  track  of  the  sweeping  wind,  and  were 
safe. 

"I  must  tell  you  another  thing.  I  had  intended 
to  leave  the  boat  I  was  in  at  Memphis,  and  spend 
the  Sabbath  there;  but  the  boat  having  been  unex- 
pectedly  detained   on   the    river,    I   found    that   I 


432  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

could  not  reach  Memphis  in  time,  and  was  strongly- 
tempted  to  go  on  to  New  Orleans  direct,  without 
stopping,  thinking  that  my  original  plan  for  observ- 
ing the  Sabbath  being  defeated,  my  mind  would  be 
relieved.  But,  it  occurred  to  me,  if  I  should  build 
a  church  for  the  worship  of  God,  and  that  church 
were  consumed  by  lightning,  would  it  be  proper  for 
me  to  say,  I  have  built  a  house  for  God,  that  has 
been  providentially  destroyed,  therefore  I  mil  do 
nothing  more  for  my  Maker  in  that  way.  I  thought 
the  case  a  parallel  one,  and  determined  to  make 
another  effort  to  show  my  respect  for  God's  holy 
day.  I  will  get  the  captain  to  put  me  out  at  some 
small  place,  where  we  might  happen  to  be  on  Satur- 
day night.     The  captain  consented,  and  I  was  put 

ashore,  about  nine  o'clock,   at  ,  a  small  town, 

occupied  chiefly  by  Roman  Catholics  and  Metho- 
dists. On  Sabbath  morning  I  went  out  very  early 
to  see  if  I  could  not  have  some  opportunity  to 
preach,  when,  much  to  my  delight,  I  was  told  that 
one  of  the  citizens,  Mr.  M.,  was  a  Presbyterian. 
Is  it  possible !  I  hastened  to  his  house,  and  found 
him  making  preparations  to  go  eight  miles  to  a 
Methodist  church  in  the  country.  He  was  very 
glad  to  see  me.  'Why,  Mr.  B.,'  says  he,  'I  know 
you,  I  have  heard  you  preach !'  '  Yes,'  said  his  wife, 
'I  know  Mr.  B.  too,  I  have  never  seen  him  before, 
but  my  brother  was  converted  under  his  preaching, 
and  he  used  to  talk  a  great  deal  about  Mr.  B.'  But, 
says  Mr.  M.,  'there  is  another  Presbyterian  family 
living  here!'  'Indeed!  Well  I  would  like  to  call 
upon  that  family.' 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  483 

"  The  old  lady,  who  had  heard  me  preach  in  Vir- 
ginia, and  who,  it  was  said,  would  be  very  glad  to 
see  me,  was  out  of  town,  but  it  was  soon  arranged 
that  she  should  be  sent  for.  And  she  was  sent  for, 
and  she  came,  and  very  glad  she  was  to  see  me,  for, 
'a  dear  sister'  of  hers,  who  had  been  somewhat  of 
an  infidel,  '  had  been  converted  under  my  preaching.' 
Indeed!  Is  that  sol  Well,  God  be  praised!  Bless 
the  Lord!  O,  thinks  I,  I  am  rewarded  for  turning 
aside  here  to  rest  on  the  Sabbath,  according  to  the 
commandment.  Not  only  have  I  cheered  the  hearts 
of  some  of  our  own  stray  sheep  in  a  destitute  place, 
but  I  have  been  told  things  which  have  made  my 
own  heart  to  rejoice  and  be  glad.  Bless  the  Lord! 
again,  I  say.  Well,  to  make  a  long  story  short,  I 
preached  in  the  morning  and  at  night  to  nearly  the 
whole  population — Methodists,  Presbyterians,  Ro- 
man Catholics  and  all !  Yes,  Homan  Catholics  too. 
They  have  a  church  edifice  in  the  place,  and  once 
they  had  a  priest,  who,  as  it  was  supposed,  was  set- 
tled there  for  life — but  he  had  left  his  people. 
'  They  are  not  Roman  Catholics,'  said  he,  and  away 
he  went  from  those  who  had  lived  in  the  midst  of 
Protestants  long  enough  to  learn  that  it  was  their 
privilege  and  right  to  do  their  own  thinking !  Well, 
I  had  a  very  pleasant  Sabbath  day;  and  next  morn- 
ing about  three  o'clock,  comes  along  the  Crescent, 
one  of  the  pleasantest  boats  I  ever  was  in,  in  all  my 
life,  and  scarcely  a  profane  swearer  on  board  amongst 
either  the  passengers  or  crew !  But,  New  Orleans  is 
near  at  hand,  so  fare  you  well. 

"Yesterday  afternoon  a  man  fell  overboard  from 
37 


434  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

this  boat,  and  was  droAViied.  This  moment  he  is 
sleeping  in  his  watery  bed,  and  they  know  nothing 
of  it — his  family;  for,  poor  man,  he  had  left  at  home, 
I  am  told,  a  >vife  and  six  children!  Surely,  in  the 
midst  of  life  we  are  in  death ;  and  very  precarious  is 
the  tenure  by  which  we  hold  all  our  comforts  here 
below.     God  bless  you,  my  son. 

Daniel  Baker." 

E-esuming  the  autobiography,  we  find  the  results 
of  this  tour  thus  summed  up : 

I  entered  upon  my  second  tour  early  in  the  year 
1851,  and,  gleaning  a  little  more  in  Houston,  Gal- 
veston, New  Orleans,  Mobile,  and  some  other  places 
where  I  had  been  before,  I  visited  in  Mississippi — 
Vicksburg,  Jackson,  Yazoo  City,  Canton,  Colum- 
bus; in  Tennessee — Memphis,  Somerville,  Raleigh, 
Belmont,  Bethany  Church,  Denmark,  Zion  Church, 
Nashville,  Clarkesville ;  in  Kentucky — Louisville, 
Frankfort,  Lexington;  in  Missouri — St.  Louis;  in 
Maryland — Baltimore ;  in  Texas — Centrevillc,  Leona, 
St.  Marks,  San  Antonio,  Danville.  The  amount  of 
subscriptions  obtained  this  year,  paid  and  not  paid, 
exclusive  of  books,  amounted  to  nearly  four  thousand 
dollars.  Upon  my  return,  and  during  the  winter,  I 
went  twice  to  San  Antonio. 


REy.   DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  435 


CHAPTEE    XIII. 

THIRD    AND    FOURTH    TOURS    AS   AGENT    OF   AUSTIN    COLLEGE. 

About  February  1st,  1852,  Dr.  Baker  left  Texas  on 
behalf  of  the  College,  upon  his  third  tour.  The  his- 
torical interest  attaching  to  the  various  meetings 
alluded  to  in  the  letters  which  follow,  must  be  our 
excuse  for  quoting  from  them  so  freely. 

"Mississippi  River,  on  boat  Atlantic,  Feb.  27/A,  1S52. 

"My  beloyed  Wife — I  wish  I  could  see  you,  just 
now.  I  do  not  know  how  much  I  love  you  until  I 
am  absent.  Then  a  thousand  things  start  up,  and 
exert  a  soft,  sweet,  melting  power  upon  my  heart. 
This  morning,  having  occasion  to  play  the  tailor,  I 
took  out  the  implements  which  you  had  kindly  pre- 
pared; and  when  I  saw  how  nicely  you  had  fixed 
matters,  thinks  I  to  myself,  this  is  the  work  of  my 
wife ;  she  still  loves  me. 

"Henceforth  I  wiU,  I  trust,  be  a  better  Christian. 
My  locks  are  whitening,  and  eternity  is  coming  on. 
O  to  be  more  gentle,  and  mild,  and  even-tempered, 
and  heavenly-minded!  In  other  words,  O  to  feel 
more  of  the  power,  and  taste  more  of  the  sweetness 
of  the  religion  of  our  precious  Saviour.  Last  Sab- 
bath I  preached  from  my  old  pulpit  in  Galveston, 
from  these  words:  'Gray  hairs  are  here  and  there 
upon  him,  and  he  knoweth  it  not.'  The  drift  of  the 
sermon  was  to  show  the  cause,  proofs,  and  evil  effects 
of  spiritual  declension.  I  had  some  liberty  in  speak- 
ing.    I  hope  it  did  good  to  others.     I  trust  it  has 


436  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

done  good  to  myself.  Gray  hairs!  how  much  more 
easily  seen  upon  the  heads  of  others  than  upon  our 
own !  O,  to  see  ourselves  as  God  sees  us !  I  think 
it  would  make  us  more  humble,  and  less  disposed  to 
find  fault  with  those  around.  I  wish  every  sermon 
I  preach  might  do  me  as  much  good  as  the  sermon  I 
preached  last  Sabbath  morning. 

''Farewell,  my  dear  wife.     God  bless  you.  Amen! 
"Your  old  husband, 

Daniel  Baker." 

After  visiting  Canton,  Columbus,  Gainesville,  a 
meeting  of  the  Tuskaloosa  Presbytery,  and  Eutaw, 
receiving  donations  for  the  College  in  each  of  these 
places,  he  reached  Charleston,  from  which  city  he 
thus  writes: 

"CiiARLESTOx,  May  lllh,  1852. 

"My  own  dear  Wife — I  reached  this  city  on  the 
7th,  and  you  may  judge  of  the  quickness  with  which 
I  went  to  the  post-office.  I  have  been  kindly  invited 
by  Dr.  S.  to  make  his  house  my  home ;  but  you  may 
rest  assured  he  gives  me  full  employment  in  the 
way  of  preaching.  Last  Sabbath  I  preached  for  him 
twice — rather,  in  the  morning,  for  Dr.  P.;  and  I 
have  been  kept  busy  also  preaching  every  night.  I 
am  happy  to  say  that  at  this  moment  there  is  every 
prospect  of  a  blessed  work  of  grace.  I  shall  remain 
and  preach,  and  preach  on  till  the  meeting  of  the 
Assembly,  if  God  spare  my  life. 

"  You  know  not,  my  dear  wife,  how  cordially  I  am 
greeted  in  this  place  by  some  who  were  brought  in 
under  my  preaching  twenty  years  ago.  It  seems  to 
me  that  God  is  already  beginning  to  reward  me  for 


REV.    DANIEL    BAKER,    D.  D.  437 

my  poor  services  many,  many  years  ago.  The  other 
evening,  in  the  pulpit.  Dr.  S.  was  pleased  to  speak 
of  me  in  a  manner  which  proved  his  high  regard  for 
my  person  and  past  services ;  but  which  I  thought 
was  entirely  too  complimentary ;  and  I  confess  I  felt 
humbled,  and  was  not  a  little  disconcerted.  Already 
my  cup  is  full,  and  shall  I,  such  a  poor  creature, 
have  the  smiles  of  God,  and  have  such  honour  from 
man  also'?  Not  unto  us,  but  unto  God  be  all  the 
glory ! 

"Last  evening  I  was  invited  to  take  tea  at  the 
house  of  a  lady  who  was  brought  in  under  my 
preaching  many  years  ago,  and  her  husband  told 
me  that  their  son,  a  promising  youth,  was  awakened 
and  converted,  and  also  a  young  lady  residing  in 
their  family,  by  the  reading  of  my  volume  of  Revival 
Sermons.  The  gentleman  was  in  the  habit  of  read- 
ing the  sermons  out  in  his  family  circle;  and,  in  this 
way,  God  was  pleased  to  bless  them  with  the  sweet 
hope  of  an  endless  life.  When  I  see  and  hear  cer- 
tain things  which  touch  my  heart,  it  seems  to  me  I 
have  already  almost  reached  heaven,  my  home,  my 
sweet,  sweet  home.  O  what  a  good  Master  I  have 
served,  and  how  rich  are  his  rewards,  even  in  this 
world. 

"Yours,  with  increasing  affection, 

Daniel  Baker." 

"Edisto  Island,  June  5th,  1852, 

"  My  dear  Eliza — I  assure  you  it  was  no  small 
gratification  to  me  to  see  my  son  W.  a  member  of 
the  venerable  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
37* 


438  LIFE    AND    LABOURS    OF    THE 

Church.  It  seemed  to  mark  a  new  era  m  the  history 
of  my  life;  and  reminded  me  that  I  belonged  to 
another  generation,  a  generation  which  has  now 
nearly  passed  away;  and  this  feeling  was  deepened 
by  seeing  in  the  Assembly,  M.  D.  Hoge,  whose  father 
was  an  unmarried  young  man  well  known  to  me  in 
Hampden  Sydney  College.  Indeed,  I  am  continually 
meeting  with  persons  and  things  which  remind  me 
that  I  am  in  the  midst  of  posterity ;  that  the  shades 
of  evening  are  gathering  around  me,  and  that  my 
sun  must  soon  go  down.  Well,  be  it  so,  if  God  will 
only  grant  that 

'My  sun  may  in  smiles  decline, 
And  bring  a  peaceful  night.' 

But  it  is  time  for  me  to  stop — I  don't  wish  to  alarm 
you,  but  I  must  say,  that  although  I  am  in  good 
health,  the  sudden  murmuring  in  my  head  has  re- 
turned, and  has  become  somewhat  frequent  of  late. 
Nothing  serious,  however,  I  suppose.  At  any  rate, 
God  reigns,  and  both  my  life  and  soul  are  in  the 
hands  of  Him  who  is  infinitely  wise  and  good.  I  am 
willing,  I  trust,  to  leave  this  present  evil  world  just 
when  it  may  please  God  to  call  me  hence.  '  Thanks 
be  to  God  for  his  unspeakable  gift !' 

"I  have  just  received  a  letter  from  the  Hon.  J.  T., 
who  was  awakened  under  my  preaching  twenty  years 
ago,  containing  two  hundred  dollars  for  Austin  Col- 
lege, and  fifty  dollars  to  be  given  to  Sabbath-schools 
in  Texas.  This  is  the  very  person  who  said  he  would 
go  to  hear  me  preach,  and  take  an  onion  with  him 
to  rub  his   eyes,  that   he  '  might  cry  at   the  right 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  439 

time;'  and  who,  thank  God,  on  that  occasion,  with- 
out any  use  of  the  onion,  was  brought  to  tears  and 
to  his  knees  also.     Blessed  be  God! 
"  Farewell,  my  dear  wife, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  a  son.) 

"  SUMPTERVILLE,  JlltlC  30th,  1852. 

"My  dear  Son — I  am  happy  to  inform  you,  that 
since  we  parted  in  Charleston,  I  have  had  much  plea- 
sant sunshine ;  I  mean  I  have  been  much  prospered 
in  my  agency,  and  personally  have  had  many  kind- 
nesses shown  me.  First,  I  went  to  Edisto  Island, 
where  I  had  preached  successfully  many  years  ago, 
and  was  received  almost  as  an  angel  of  God.  With- 
out making  any  application,  except  from  the  pulpit, 
free-will  offerings  were  in  less  than  four  days  sent  in 
to  the  amount  of  more  than  three  hundred  dollars. 
Going  next  to  Columbia,  I  received  subscriptions  to 
the  amount  of  four  hundred  and  eighty-seven  dollars 
and  ninety-five  cents.  The  President  of  the  Col- 
lege, Dr.  Thornwell,  subscribed  one  hundred  dollars, 
and  the  students  two  hundred  and  fifty-eight.  "Was 
not  this  noble !  Passing  on  to  Camden,  there  also, 
without  making  personal  application  to  a  single 
individual,  I  received  in  a  few  days  one  hundred 
and  fifty-seven  dollars  and  fifty  cents.  Thank  God, 
almost  wherever  I  go,  I  meet  with  those  who  were 
brought  in  under  my  ministry  many  years  ago,  seve- 
ral of  whom  are  even  ministers  of  the  gospel,  of 
whom  I  had  never  heard  before.  Even  in  the  pulpit 
I  am  spoken  of  in  a  manner  which  almost  over- 
whelms me.     Only  think,  Dr.  Thornwell  made  an 


440  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF    THE 

announcement  to  the  students  of  South  Carolina 
College  after  this  manner:  'In  consequence  of  the 
tender  relations  which  exist  between  many  of  your 
parents  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Baker,  who  has  just 
addressed  you,  you  are  no  doubt  desirous  to  know 
his  appointments;  I  will  therefore  state,  &c.  &c.' 
Heaven  bless  you  and  yours. 

"  Your  ever  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

"Personal  friendship,"  he  remarks,  in  a  letter 
dated  July  3d,  1852,  "oils  the  wheels,  and  hence, 
without  almost  any  effort  on  my  part,  they  roll  on 
delightfully.  I  scarcely  hear  a  single  excuse  now. 
This  is  the  more  astonishing,  as  the  churches  in  this 
region  have  contributed  largely  to  Oglethorpe  Col- 
lege, and  at  this  time  money  is  really  very  scarce. 
Wherever  I  go  I  am  received  with  open  arms.  My 
spiritual  children,  especially,  seem  so  glad  to  see  me. 
Sometimes  I  feel  almost  overwhelmed!  *  *  *  The 
individual  who  gave  this  was,  it  seems,  converted 
under  my  preaching;  and  I  have  found  out  that  the 
person  who  sent  the  one  hundred  dollars  was  his 
brother-in-law,  who  was  a  rich  man,  and  who  rejoiced 
greatly  at  the  conversion  of  one  who  was  very  dear 
to  him.  Bless  the  Lord,  O  how  gracious  has  he 
been  to  me,  blessing  my  labours,  and  surrounding 
me  with  friends  wherever  I  go." 

(to  his  daughter.) 

" Bishop viLLLE,  July^  lOth  1852. 

"My  DEAR  model  Daughter — *  *  *  *  Well, 
since  that  I  have  received  cheering  smiles,  both  from 


EEV.  DANIEL  BAKER,  D.  D.  441 

God  and  man.  During  the  last  two  weeks  I  have 
been  preaching  almost  every  day  within  the  t>ounds 
of  two  churches  in  the  neighbourhood  of  each  other. 
It  pleased  God  to  bless  my  labours.  Besides  the 
reviving  delightfully  of  old  disciples,  some  twenty 
persons,  chiefly  men,  have  been  hopefully  converted, 
and  quite  as  many  more  brought  under  awakening 
influences.  This  meeting  was  closed  yesterday  about 
noon,  and  a  scene  was  witnessed  which  I  am  certain 
will  not  soon  be  forgotten.  It  was  a  melting  time ; 
the  Master  was  with  us,  and  of  a  truth  we  had  'a 
young  heaven  begun  below,  and  glory  in  the  bud.' 
I  was  presented,  before  leaving,  with  four  hundred 
and  fifteen  dollars  for  the  College.  Was  not  this 
noble'?  And,  remember,  there  had  been  no  begging 
from  a  single  individual ;  it  was  all  a  perfectly  free- 
"svill  offering. 

"  Did  I  not  tell  you,  that  if  I  had  any  friends  in 
the  world,  they  were  in  South  Carolina'?  You  cannot 
conceive,  my  child,  how  kind  the  people  are  to  me, 
wherever  I  go.  Their  kindness  is  sometimes  almost 
oppressive;  I  can  scarcely  stand  it.  To  think  that 
such  an  unworthy  creature  as  I  should  receive  such 
attentions,  and  that  from  all  classes.  The  reason  is, 
that  not  only  some  two  or  three  thousand  persons, 
perhaps,  were  brought  in  under  my  preaching,  in 
days  gone  by,  but  it  so  happened  that  a  goodly  num- 
ber of  these  were  people  of  note,  some  of  the  favourite 
sons  and  brightest  ornaments  of  the  State.  Surely, 
if  any  poor  mortal  man  on  earth  has  reason  to  thank 
God  for  his  mercies,  I  have.  And  now,  and  ever- 
more, I  would  say,  to  God  be  all  the  praise !  O,  for 
a  more  grateful  heart ;  and,  O,  for  grace  to  serve  the 


442  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

Lord  with  more  zeal  and  fidelity  than  I  have  ever 
yet  d(^iel 

''July  12.  Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  preached 
a  few  sermons  in  this  village,  and  am  happy  to  say, 
there  is  every  prospect  of  a  pleasing  work  of  grace  in 
this  place  also.  Nearly  the  whole  congregation  where 
I  preached  last,  some  ten  miles  distant,  came  here 
yesterday,  with  their  pastor  at  their  head;  and,  would 
you  believe  it,  I  am  told  that  several  persons  came 
from  Sumterville,  twenty  miles  distant.  I  am  told 
that  I  must  preach,  and  others  here  would  beg  for 
the  College.  In  this  way  I  find  I  succeed  best  in  my 
agency.  If  I  were  not  to  preach,  or  only  preach  a 
few  sermons,  and  go  about  '  drawing  teeth,'  I  would 
not  get  half  as  much  for  the  College  as  I  now  do. 
And  when  teeth  are  drawn,  are  not  the  gums  made 
sore '?  I  expect  in  three  days  from  this  time  to  be  in 
Columbia,  where  I  hope  to  find  letters  from  your 
dear  mother  and  other  loved  ones. 
"  In  haste,  your  old  father, 

Daniel  Baker. 

"P.  S.  I  have  heard  of  ^\e  or  six  more  cases  of 
hopeful  conversion;  say  now  about  twenty-six  in  all, 
and  perhaps  as  many  as  two-thirds  of  them  young 
men.  I  mentioned  at  the  outset,  that  we  must  have 
more  ministers,  and  I  think  God  has  heard  my 
prayer." 

(to  another  daughter.) 

'•Sumterville,  July24(h,  1852. 

"My  beloved  Daughter — During  the  last  three 
weeks,  I  have  been  preaching  almost  incessantly 
in  the  bounds  of  three   neighbouring  Presbyterian 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  443 

churclies.  Nearly  the  whole  mass  of  the  people  in 
that  region  come  out  day  after  day.  We  held  what 
are  called  'basket  meetings.'  The  people  brought 
provisions  along  with  them,  and  we  would  remain 
on  the  ground  and  have  religious  services,  with 
proper  intermissions,  from  ten  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing to  about  four  in  the  afternoon,  having  no  service 
at  night.  Such  meetings  are  well  suited  to  country 
places,  and  I  prefer  them  decidedly  to  camp-meet- 
ings. There  was  a  general  waking  up,  and  the 
converts  amounted  to  about  thirty,  and  what  is  re- 
markable, about  two-thirds  of  them  may  be  called 
young  men,  the  class  to  which  my  heart  is  particu- 
larly drawn.  Some  of  these  are  of  considerable 
promise,  and  I  have  reason  to  believe  that  four  or 
five  of  them  will  devote  themselves  to  the  service  of 
God  in  the  gospel  ministry.     Blessed  be  God! 

"  I  may  here  also  just  mention,  that  a  little  boy 
was  baptized  last  Sabbath,  and  named — what  do  you 
think'?  Why,  Daniel  Baker!  and  I  have  lately 
heard  of  another  little  Carolinian  who  has  to  be 
known  by  the  same  homely  name ! — and,  would  you 
believe  it,  the  day  before  yesterday,  I  had  to  sit 
for  four  daguerreotype  likenesses !  Surely,  my  dear 
daughter,  your  old  father  has  much  cause  for  grati- 
tude and  praise;  for,  of  a  truth,  'the  lines  are  fallen 
to  me  in  pleasant  places,  I  have  a  goodly  heritage.' 
O  for  grace  to  serve  my  Master  more  faithfully  and 
zealously  than  ever !  My  time  is  very  precious,  and 
therefore,  I  must  put  you  off  with  a  short  letter 
now;  but,  at  some  future  time,  I  may  send  you  a 
longer  letter,  a  crowded  sheet.  *  *  *  Heaven 
bless  the   little  boy.     I  am  quite  willing   that  he 


444  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

should  throw  both  pa  and  grandpa  into  the  shade. 
But  I  must  close.     So,  fare  you  well. 
"Your  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

It  was  an  invariable  custom  with  Dr.  Baker, 
whenever  a  friend  was  afflicted,  either  to  hasten  to 
the  house  of  mourning  with  words  of  consolation,  or, 
when  that  was  impossible,  to  write  to  that  friend  a 
letter  of  condolence.  The  following  is  the  only  one 
of  the  kind  in  this  volume.  It  will  be  observed  too, 
that  the  letter  contains  an  account  of  the  work  of 
grace  in  Sumterville.  It  is  addressed  to  a  daughter 
recently  afflicted. 

"  SVUTERYILLE,  jlugust  2d,  1852. 

"My  LOYED  Child — As  it  seems  to  cheer  your 
dear  heart  so  much,  to  receive  even  a  line  from 
your  long  absent  father,  I  thought  I  would  this 
morning  send  you  a  little  brief  note,  to  assure  you 
of  my  continued  health  and  continued  love.  The  ac- 
count which  you  give  of  your  loneliness  has  touched 
my  heart.  At  an  early  period  your  husband  was 
taken  from  you,  and  then  your  infant,  which  you 
hoped  would  be  your  joy  and  consolation,  was  also 
snatched  away,  even  before  it  could  reward  its 
mother  with  one  sweet  smile.  This  was  truly  a 
heavy  blow !  It  was  affliction  indeed !  But  suppose 
my  daughter,  that  your  parents  had  also  been  taken'? 
Suppose  that  they  also  were  this  moment  sleeping  in 
the  same  city  of  silence,  side  by  side  with  your  hus- 
band and  dear  little  boy,  would  not  this  have  been  a 
yet  deeper  affliction'?  and  would  you  not  have  been 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  445 

made  to  feel  more  lonely  still]     My  daughter,  you 
should  think  of  your  mercies,  as  well  as  your  afflic- 
tions.    So  did  Job — so  should  you.     You  recollect 
his  language;  how  beautiful  and  how  appropriate! 
'  Have  we  received  good  at  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  and 
shall  we  not  receive  evil?     The  Lord  gave,  the  Lord 
hath  taken  away.     Blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord.' 
Here  we  have  the  language  and  the  very  spirit  of 
true   piety.     Let  it  be  your   own.     Cheer   up,   my 
daughter;  your  Heavenly  Father  is  upon  the  throne, 
and  he  does  all  things  well.    He  has  seen  your  tears. 
He  has  heard  your  sighs.     He  knows  full  well  all 
the    sorrows    of  your  heart;    and    God,    even   your 
own  God  and  Heavenly  Father  cares  for  you.     Your 
sighs  are  recorded,  your  tears  are  in  'his  bottle,'  and 
rest  assured,  all  things  have  been  ordered  in  wis- 
dom and  in  love.     Yes,  my  child.  He  who  notices 
the  falling  sparrow,  certainly  could  not  have  per- 
mitted your  loved  husband  and  your  dear  little  boy 
to  sink  into  the  grave  without  his  notice  and  kind 
regard.     Hark!     He  speaks  to  thee — 'Be  still,  and 
know  that  I  am  God:'   and   again,   methinks,   He 
speaks  to  you,  my  daughter,  in  the  softened,  sweet 
tones  of  compassion  and  love,  and  says,  'Silence,  my 
child,  what  I  do  thou  knowest  not  now,  but  thou 
shalt  know  hereafter.'     Therefore,  cheer  up,  my  be- 
loved T.,  kiss  the  rod  that  smites  you,  and  say,  even 
in  the  language  of  the  blessed  Saviour  himself,  '  the 
cup  which  my  Father  giveth  me,  shall  I  not  drink  of 
it]     Do  this,  say  this  from  your  heart,  and  all  will 
be  well!  for,  is  it  not  written,  'all  things  work  toge- 
ther for  good  to  them  that  love  God']     And  what 
says  the  same  apostle  again]    'I  reckon  that  the  suf- 
38 


446  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

ferings  of  this  present  time  are  not  worthy  to  be 
compared  with  the  glory  which  shall  be  revealed  in 
us.'  Yes,  after  sorrow,  comes  joy!  After  gloom 
comes  glory !  After  the  conflict  of  battle,  the  repose 
of  victory !  In  short,  after  earth  comes  heaven,  sweet 
heaven!  even  the  visions  of  God,  and  the  joys  of  a 
life  which  shall  never  end! 

"Wednesday  morning,  August  4th.  Last  night, 
amid  circumstances  of  very  special  interest  and  so- 
lemnity, our  meeting  in  this  place  came  to  an  end; 
and,  truly,  a  most  delightful,  blessed  meeting  it  has 
proved;  a  sweet,  refreshing  season  indeed!  Thirty 
cases  of  hopeful  conversion,  about  two-thirds  of  whom 
may  be  called  young  men.  I  think  I  never  saw  a 
more  interesting  set  of  converts  in  all  my  life;  as 
one  has  expressed  it,  '  They  are  the  very  pick  of  our 
town' — and  another  remarked,  '  If  it  had  been  left  to 
us  to  select,  we  could  not  have  made  a  better  selec- 
tion.'    To  God  be  all  the  praise! 

"  The  meeting  embraced  parts  of  three  weeks.  I 
will  tell  you  how  it  was.  I  came  here  some  six 
weeks  ago,  and,  after  preaching  for.  a  few  nights, 
and  begging  as  hard  as  I  could  for  the  College 
during  the  day,  I  obtained  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  dollars.  Perceiving  that  there  was  some  reli- 
gious excitement,  I  was  urged  to  protract  my  visit, 
but  I  declined,  and-  set  out  to  visit  what  brother 
McQ.  termed  the  'model  churches'  on  Black  River. 
First  I  went  to  Zion  Church,  of  which  brother  R.  is 
pastor.  I  had  been  preaching  there  only  about  two 
days  when  an  elder  from  Sumterville  came  to  me 
with  a  letter  from  the  elders  of  that  church,  stating 
that  there  was  more  religious  interest  in  Sumterville 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  447 

than  was  supposed,  and  urged  me  to  return  for  a  few 
days  longer.  I  told  the  brother  I  did  not  see  how  I 
could  return  to  Sumterville,  for  my  time  was  not  my 
own,  and,  however  pleasing  it  would  be  to  me  to 
preach  in  Sumterville,  yet,  as  I  had  already  reaped 
down  that  field,  I  did  not  think  I  could  do  any  thing 
more  there  for  Austin  College.  'Well,'  said  Mr.  K., 
'if  you  will  only  return  and  preach  for  us  a  few 
sermons  more,  I  will  myself  be  responsible  for  fifty 
dollars.'  'Then  I  will  go,'  said  I;  and  I  did  go,  as 
soon  as  the  revival  which  had  already  commenced  in 
brother  E,'s  church  allowed  me  to  go — thirty  being 
hopefully  converted;  about  twenty  of  whom  were 
young  men.  Resuming  my  labours,  I  preached  to  a 
people  who  very  generally  began  to  take  up  the 
inquiry,  'O,  sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved  f  By 
Friday  noon  about  twenty-two  persons  had  professed 
conversion,  and  I  had  preached  what  was  supposed 
to  be  my  last  sermon  in  the  place.  I  had  an  appoint- 
ment for  Williamsburg,  some  forty  miles  off,  for  the 
next  Sabbath;  I  was  nearly  ready  to  start,  when  in 
stepped  a  committee  of  gentlemen,  appointed  by  a 
unanimous  vote  of  the  church,  begging  me  to  remain 
over  the  Sabbath,  and,  as  an  inducement  to  stay,  I 
was  told  that  I  should  have  for  the  College  fifty  dol- 
lars more,  and  moreover  that  an  express  should  be 
sent  to  Williamsburg  church  to  tell  them  what  had 
prevented  my  fulfilling  my  appointment.  So  I  re- 
mained until  Monday,  at  which  time  the  converts 
numbered  about  thirty,  embracing  the  very  flower  of 
the  town;  several  young  men,  one  or  more  of  whom 
have  the  ministry  in  view. 


448  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

"  Now,  in  regard  to  my  agency.  Without  saying 
another  word,  either  in  public  or  privately,  they  came 
forward  nobly,  and  added,  in  subscriptions,  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty-six  dollars  to  what  had  already  been 
given,  making,  in  all,  three  hundred  and  eighty  dol- 
lars! Thus  was  this  field  reaped  down  three  times. 
Surely  the  Lord  has  been  good  to  me,  and  I  have  at 
least  been  reminded  of  the  language  of  the  Apostle, 
uttering  the  outpourings  of  an  admiring  and  grateful 
heart,  '  Thanks  be  to  God,  who  always  causeth  us  to 
triumph  in  Christ,  and  maketh  manifest  the  savour 
of  his  knowledge  in  every  place !' 

"  I  have  received  invitations  to  several  other  places, 
where,  I  trust,  God  will  continue  to  prosper  me, 
both  as  a  minister  and  agent.  How  pleasant  it  is  to 
follow  the  bent  of  my  inclinations,  and  in  this  way 
not  only  do  much  good  in  winning  souls  to  Christ, 
but  in  this  way  also  more  effectually  promote  the 
object  of  my  agency.  Had  I  been  recreant  to  my 
ministerial  vows,  and  lost  the  minister  in  the  agent — 
had  I  just  gone  from  place  to  place,  and  house  to 
house  with  a  pair  of  forceps,  so  to  speak,  'pulling 
teeth,'  I  am  satisfied  I  should  not  have  succeeded 
one-fourth  part  as  well.  I  thank  God  I  have  been 
taught  a  new  and  better  way  of  begging  for  the  Col- 
lege. Do  good,  and  then  try  the  power  of  a  grateful 
heart.  I  have,  besides  paying  travelling  expenses, 
sent  home  in  checks  to  the  amount  of  nearly  three 
thousand  dollars;  indeed,  nearly  four  thousand  dol- 
lars. God  be  thanked! — this  will  do  very  well. 
And  how  pleasant  to  have  so  many  new  spiritual 
children  gathered  around  me !  and  to  have  so  many 


REY.  DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  449 

touching  and  substantial  proofs  of  being  beloved  by 
them! 

"Your  absent  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  a  son.) 

"Indian  Town  Church,  August  ISth,  1852. 

"Well,  my  son,  thank  God  I  have  some  more 
good  news  to  communicate.  Invited  to  Williams- 
burg church — a  country  church — and  taken  there  in 
a  carriage  some  forty  miles,  I  preached  my  first 
sermon  there  last  Sabbath  a  week,  and  my  last  on 
the  Sabbath  afternoon  following,  closing  with  'some 
more  last  words,'  or  familiar  addresses  on  Monday 
morning.  Fifty-two  young  converts  were  added  to 
the  church!  and  as,  after  making  a  public  profession 
of  their  faith  in  Christ,  they  were  requested  to 
occupy  the  first  table  by  themselves,  the  scene  pre- 
sented was  beautiful.  A  long  table,  filled  up  with 
young  disciples,  and  these  the  flower  of  the  whole 
community;  truly  the  scene  was  beautiful  to  parents 
and  other  pious  friends  who  were  looking  on ;  it  was 
indeed  a  scene  of  thrilling  interest;  it  was  worth  an 
angel's  visit  from  the  skies.  You  may  well  suppose 
many  cheeks  were  wet  with  tears,  trickling  tears  of 
joy!  And,  no  doubt,  there  were  some  Simeons 
present,  who  were  ready  to  say,  'Lord,  now  lettest 
thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace,  for  mine  eyes  have 
seen  thy  salvation!'  But  this  was  not  all.  Our 
spiritual  rose-bush,  which  had  at  that  time  many 
buds,  appeared  the  next  morning  in  fresh  bloom; 
twelve  more  were  found  rejoicing  in  Christ.  The 
whole  number  actually  added  to  the  church  on  pro- 
38* 


450  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

fession,  fifty-eight;  the  whole  number  hopefully 
converted,  sixty-four;  thirty-four  males,  chiefly  of 
middle  age,  but  some  choice  young  men,  who,  it  is 
thought,  will  certainly  devote  themselves  to  the  gos- 
pel ministry.  What  hath  God  wrought! — to  Him 
be  all  the  praise !  I  preached  not  more  than  twenty 
sermons,  and  sixty-four  precious  souls  converted! 
Again  I  say,  to  God  be  all,  all  the  praise !  Has  not 
your  father  been  greatly  blessed  and  prospered'?  I 
think  I  can  enter  into  the  feelings  of  David,  when, 
in  the  outpouring  of  a  grateful  heart,  he  exclaimed, 
'Surely,  this  is  not  the  manner  of  man,  O  Lord 
God!' 

"  My  health  is  as  usual,  and  so  is  my  voice ;  but  as 
I  write  so  many  letters,  you  may  well  be  content  if 
I  am  brief  How  I  should  like  to  step  in  just  now, 
and  see  how  you  are  coming  on;  and  I  would  like 
to  see  my  little  grandson — Heaven  bless  the  dear 
boy,  and  liis  mother  too. 

"  Affectionately  yours  in  many  bonds, 

Daniel  Baker. 

"P.  S.  Three  more  hopefully  converted  since 
writing ;  all  young  men — whole  number  sixty-seven, 
yea,  sixty-nine." 

Others  may  be  better  able  than  the  compiler  of 
this  volume,  to  estimate  to  what  degree  young  men 
entering  the  church,  and,  afterward,  the  Tninistry, 
under  such  auspices  as  these,  would  form  their  idea 
and  fix  their  standard  of  preaching  thereby;  to  what 
degree  the  preacher  would  reproduce  himself  in 
ministers  whom  he  was  made  the  means  of  leading 
to  Christ.     If  there   be  lines  of  likeness    between 


1 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  451 

father  and  child,  will  there  be  none  between  this 
father  and  those  whom  he  so  delighted  to  call  his 
spiritual  children'?  In  estimating  the  usefulness  of 
Dr.  Baker,  too,  shall  we  count  only  those  who  actu- 
ally made  a  profession  of  religion  by  the  close  of  a 
meeting  held  by  him]  Must  there  be  no  count  of 
those  truly  converted,  but  slower  in  making  profes- 
sion thereof?  None  of  those  whom  God  the  Spirit 
then  began  to  compel  to  come  in,  even  though  the 
actual  entrance  was  not  till,  perhaps,  years  after] 
And  let  it  ever  be  borne  in  mind,  that  faithful  pas- 
tors, wherever  he  went,  were  the  sowers — even  where 
he  was  permitted  to  be  the  reaper.  Nothing  was 
more  fully  understood  at  each  meeting,  than  this 
fact;  and,  at  each  meeting,  without  a  particle  of 
other  feeling,  he  that  sowed  and  he  that  reaped 
rejoiced  together  at  the  harvest  of  souls. 

In  a  letter  to  his  wife,  referring  to  the  meeting 
above  mentioned,  and  especially  to  the  communion 
scene,  he  says: 

"Indiantown  Church,  August  23d,  ]  S52.— Rainy  day. 

"You  may  well  suppose  many  tears  of  delicious 
joy  were  shed.  We  had  a  little  jubilee,  a  pente- 
costal  season  in  miniature.  To  God  be  all,  all  the 
praise!  But,  to  proceed.  The  very  next  day,  last 
Tuesday  morning,  by  invitation  of  the  elders  of  the 
church,  they  have  no  pastor,  I  preached  my  first 
sermon  in  this  place;  and  closed  the  meeting  this 
day;  and  lo,  the  Head  of  the  Church  has  been 
pleased  to  honour  the  labours  of  your  husband  here 
also,  and  yesterday  morning  twenty  young  converts 
came  forward  and   made  a  good  confession  before 


452  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

many  witnesses.  Of  these,  twelve  w^ere  men,  nearly 
all  young  men,  the  remaining  eight  were  chiefly 
young  ladies.  Is  not  this  wonderful !  Observe,  the 
congregation  here  is  not  as  large  as  at  Williams- 
burg church,  and  in  some  respects  the  church  here 
was  not  in  a  favourable  state.  Besides,  the  meet- 
ing embraced  only  one  Sabbath.  This  has  been  to 
this  people  a  time  of  sweet  refreshing;  the  results 
far  beyond  what  any  individual,  I  suppose,  had  ever 
dreamed  of.  On  closing  the  services  this  afternoon, 
there  was  much  tender  feeling;  and  almost  every 
individual  in  the  house  came  up  to  me  to  shake 
hands.  I  had  been  told  that  several  ladies  wished 
to  shake  hands  with  me,  so  I  came  down  from  the 
pulpit,  and  stood  at  the  foot  of  the  steps,  and  I 
believe  that  not  only  every  lady,  but  every  gentle- 
man in  the  house,  say  two  hundred,  came  up  to  bid 
me  an  affectionate  farewell,  and  this  they  did  with 
many  tears.  Their  husbands,  and  fathers,  and  bro- 
thers, and  sons,  have  undertaken  to  do  something 
handsome  for  the  College.  I  do  not  yet  know  the 
amount,  but  from  what  has  been  whispered  in  my 
ear,  I  suspect,  considering  the  time  I  preached,  it 
will  be  even  more  than  has  been  given  in  any  other 
place.  Did  I  not  tell  you  that  the  South  Caroli- 
nians are  some  of  the  noblest  people  in  the  world ! 
By  their  attentions,  and  overwhelming  kindness  they 
have  touched,  they  have  melted  down  my  whole 
heart.  God  bless  them,  and  reward  them  richly, 
both  on  earth  and  in  heaven!  But  I  must  look 
upon  my  Heavenly  Father  as  the  great  spring  and 
source  of  all — for  he  has  blessed  my  preaching  to 
the  conversion  of  so  many;  only  think!  on  an  aver- 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  453 

age  something  more  perhaps  than  two  converts  for 
every  sermon!  and  these  chiefly  men,  young  men  of 
promise,  and  middle  aged  men,  prominent  men,  as 
prominent  and  influential  as  any  in  the  whole  com- 
munity. 

"  And,  my  beloved  wife,  is  it  not  remarkable,  not- 
withstanding my  incessant  preaching  for  some  eight 
or  ten  weeks  past,  my  health  is  firm,  and  my  voice 
is  strong  and  clear  as  ever.  It  is  said  that  the  Lord 
blessed  the  latter  end  of  Job  more  than  the  begin- 
ning. It  really  seems  that  this  is  true  with  regard 
to  myself  Blessed  be  God,  and  for  ever  blessed  be 
his  holy  name !  By  the  favour  of  Heaven,  I  am  now 
in  the  enjoyment  of  'a  green  old  age.'  May  I  have 
the  honour  and  happiness  of  bringing  forth  fruit  as 
long  as  I  live.  One  thing  I  know,  I  still  love  to 
preach  Christ.  The  work  is  delightful;  yea,  I  love 
it  more  and  more.  Thanks  to  Him  who  has  im- 
planted this  feeling  in  my  heart. 

"You  say  that  I  must  be  'a  happy  man.'  Well, 
so  I  am.  God  has  been  pleased  to  honour  me,  and 
the  people  are  continually  giving  me  proofs  of  rare 
affection;  and  besides  all,  I  have,  as  I  trust,  'a  good 
hope  through  grace.'  So  I  can  almost  say  with  the 
Psalmist,  'Thou  anointest  my  head  with  oil;  my 
cup  runneth  over;'  and  I  hope  it  is  no  presumption 
to  add,  '  Surely  goodness  and  mercy  shall  follow  me 
all  the  days  of  my  life,  and  I  will  dwell  in  the  house 
of  the  Lord  for  ever.' 

"  If  the  Trustees  desire  it,  I  am  willing  to  return 
to  this  State  again  in  due  season;  for,  you  must 
observe,  I  have  as  yet  been  to  very  few  places  which 
I  originally  intended  to  visit.    Unexpected  and  press- 


454  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

ing  invitations  have  turned  me  off  from  my  intended 
course.  The  incidents  which  occurred  some  twenty 
years  ago  seem  not  to  have  been  forgotten;  and  as 
some  of  the  favourite  sons  of  Carolina  were  brought 
in  under  my  preaching  at  that  time,  and  have  worn 
well,  this  has  given  me  a  notoriety  which  otherwise 
I  would  not  have  had;  and  this  has  inspired  a  con- 
fidence in  me,  which,  on  this  tour,  has  helped  me 
much.  I  could  write  a  great  deal  more,  but  you  see 
my  sheet  is  full. 

"Your  absent,  but  not  estranged  husband, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  a  daughter.) 

"Mars  Bluff,  September  Sth,  1852. 

"My  dear  Susan — ^You  do  not  know  how  greatly 
the  Lord  has  blessed  my  preaching,  and  how  he  has 
given  Austin  College  and  its  Agent  favour  in  the 
eyes  of  the  people.  Having  invitations  showered 
upon  me,  I  have  for  several  weeks  past  been  going 
from  one  place  to  another,  preaching  Christ  inces- 
santly, say,  on  an  average,  two  sermons  every  day; 
and,  without  a  single  exception,  the  Lord  has  re- 
markably blessed  my  labours  wherever  I  have  gone. 
The  whole  number  who  have  professed  conversion 
under  my  preaching,  within  eight  or  nine  weeks 
past,  is  about  one  hundred  and  eighty,  besides  some 
twenty-five  or  thirty  blacks.  This,  I  confess,  is  mar- 
vellous in  my  eyes;  and  whilst  I  rejoice,  I  am  led  to 
exclaim,  'Even  so.  Father,  for  so  it  seemed  good  in 
thy  sight.'  To  God  be  all  the  praise!  So  many 
cases  of  conversion,  and  the  conversion  of  persons  so 
prominent  and  respectable,  must,  of  course,  gladden 


i 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  455 

many  hearts;  and  as  there  is  a  very  intimate  connec- 
tion between  the  heart  and  the  purse,  the  converts 
and  their  friends,  in  their  joy  and  gratitude,  have 
poured  out  their  'free-will  offerings'  in  a  most  sur- 
prising manner. 

"  Of  course  I  am  in  good  spirits.  In  the  reception 
of  so  many  kindnesses  from  God  and  man,  it  is  right 
that  I  should  be  both  grateful  and  happy.  Some- 
times, however,  the  attentions  paid  me  seem  to  be 
almost  going  beyond  the  mark.  Besides  smiling 
faces,  salutations,  and  compliments,  suited  to  a  better 
man  than  I  am,  I  am  sometimes  amused  when  my 
friends  in  their  kindness  seem  so  desirous  that  I 
should  have  the  best  room,  the  best  chair,  the  best 
coffee,  the  best  bed.  Who  am  I,  and  what  is  my 
father's  house,  that  I  should  have  so  many  roses 
strewed  along  my  pathway  through  life ! 

"  This  day  I  preached  my  last  sermon  here,  in  a 
meeting  which  lasted  five  or  six  days;  a  blessed 
meeting,  as  usual.  About  a  dozen  professed  con- 
version, and  some  thirty  more  were  this  morning  at 
the  inquiry  meeting  as  anxious — the  prospects  for 
another  powerful  work  of  grace  highly  encouraging. 
Indeed,  the  pastor  was  entirely  unwilling  to  close 
the  meeting;  and  as  I  could  not  stay  any  longer,  he 
sent  off  for  some  other  ministers  about  forty  miles 
or  more  distant.  O  how  good  has  the  Lord  been  to 
me,  thus  signally  and  in  every  place  to  honour  my 
ministry !  '  Even  so.  Father,  for  so  it  seemed  good 
in  thy  sight.'  Tell  W.  to  give  himself  up  wholly  to 
the  blessed  work  of  the  ministry,  and  God  will  bless 
him. 

"I  am  writing  on  a  trunk  in  the  baggage-office  on 


456  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

the  road;  moreover,  time  is  precious.     So,  fare  you 
well.     Your  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  his  wife.) 

"Darlington  C.  H.,  Sept.  21th,  1852. 

"My  dear  Eliza — Well,  I  can  now  say,  at  last, 
next  week,  God  willing,  I  set  out  for  home,  sweet 
home.  The  Lord  continues  to  bless  my  labours. 
The  last  meeting  was  a  delightful  one,  some  thirty- 
five,  at  least,  brought  in  within  six  days ;  and  at  the 
meeting  immediately  preceding,  the  hopeful  converts 
were  put  down  at  forty.  Every  meeting  blessed, 
without  one  solitary  exception.  The  whole  number 
who  have  professed  to  find  peace  in  believing,  may,  I 
think,  safely  be  put  down  at  two  hundred  and  eighty ; 
and  the  majority  men — nearly  one  hundred  young 
men.  What  hath  God  wrought  ]  To  God  be  all  the 
praise !  Tidings  of  these  things  have  spread  abroad, 
and  has  produced  a  great  excitement  in  all  this 
region  of  country,  and  crowds  come  out  to  hear  me, 
wherever  I  go.  In  some  respects  this  is  all  very 
pleasant,  and  I  hope  my  heart  overflows  with  grati- 
tude to  God  for  making  me  instrumental  in  doing  so 
much  good.  But  when  I  see  such  unusual  crowds 
come  out  to  hear  me  preach,  and  know  that  they 
have  high  expectations,  too  high  for  me  to  meet,  I 
confess  I  feel  as  if  I  would  like  to  go  and  preach 
where  nobody  had  ever  heard  of  me  before.  My  bow 
has  been  bent  for  a  long  time;  two  sermons  a  day 
for  twelve  weeks.  I  am  not  broken  down;  my  health 
and  voice  are  still  good;  but  I  feel  as  if  I  wanted  to 
'  turn  aside,  and  rest  awhile.'     My  time  is  precious, 


REV.    DANIEL    BAKER,    D.  D.  457 

as  you  may  well  suppose.     So,  with  affectionate  salu- 
tations, 

Your  husband, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  his  daughter.) 

"Marion  C.  H.,  Oct.  2d,  1852. 

"My  beloved  Daughter — The  joint  letter,  written 
by  your  mother  and  yourself,  came  to  hand  yesterday. 
You  may  well  suppose  I  was  pleased  to  receive  it, 
when  I  tell  you  that,  on  breaking  the  seal,  I  read  it 
over  three  times  without  stopping;  and  that,  too, 
when  my  time  was  as  precious  as  gold.  Yesterday 
afternoon  I  closed  a  six  days'  meeting  at  Darlington 
Court-House.  It  was  truly  a  dehghtful  gathering. 
Crowds  attended  three  times  every  day;  and  some 
came  from  a  great  distance.  God  was  evidently  in 
our  midst.  Christians  were  g-reatly  revived,  and 
about  twenty-five  or  thirty  persons  hopefully  con- 
verted; and,  as  usual,  chiefly  men,  young  men.  All 
our  meetings  have  been  deeply  interesting,  and  every 
one  blessed;  yes,  thank  God,  every  one.  We  have 
had  nine  protracted  meetings,  and  each  has  presented 
all  the  heart-stirring  scenes  of  a  genuine  work  of 
grace.  The  converts  average  four  for  each  day. 
This  is  wonderful  indeed,  particularly  when  it  is 
remembered  that  a  large  majority  are  men,  having  a 
very  considerable  sprinkling  of  doctors,  lawyers,  and 
coUege  students.  No  meeting  was  more  delightful 
than  the  last.  To  God  be  all  the  praise!  But  the 
sweet  notes  of '  the  church-going  bell'  are  now  falling 
upon  my  ear,  so  I  must  lay  down  my  pen. 

"  Five  o'clock.  I  have  just  returned  from  preach- 
39 


458  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

ing  my  second  sermon  in  this  place.  The  prospects 
are  encouraging.  I  expect  to  preach  again  to-night, 
and  three  times  to-morroAV.  Some  have  ah'eady  come 
from  a  distance,  and  more  are  expected. 

"  When  I  preached  a  few  weeks  since  at  Midway, 
it  having  rained  much,  the  swamp  was  full.  Some 
came  to  church  literally  through  deep  waters,  and 
others,  unwilling  to  venture,  came  round  the  swamp, 
some  thirty  miles.  You  say,  these  things  must  be 
pleasing ;  yes,  but  there  are  drawbacks.  I  know  I 
cannot  meet  the  expectation  of  all,  for  things  have 
been  coloured,  and  I  have  heard  of  many  extravagant 
remarks.  Indeed,  there  is  with  some  persons  such 
enthusiasm  and  wild  talk  in  regard  to  my  preaching 
and  success,  that  I  feel  some-times  as  if  I  cannot 
stand  it,  and  must  run  away !  I  am  smothered  with 
roses ;  and  although  roses  are  very  sweet  things,  the 
sensation  of  smothering  is  not  the  most  agreeable  in 
the  world,  and  I  rejoice  that  I  am  soon  to  spread  my 
wings.  This  is  Saturday,  and  I  expect  next  Wed- 
nesday to  set  out  for  home,  sweet  home!  And  is  it 
possible  that  I  shall  so  soon  be  in  the  bosom  of  my 
own  dear  family!  But  stop — not  so  fast;  I  suppose 
I  shall  have  to  give  Oglethorpe  College  a  call,  and 
must  also  tarry  a  few  days  in  New  Orleans. 

"Monday  morning.  I  preached  three  times  yes- 
terday. At  night  there  was  so  much  seriousness  the 
anxious  were  requested  to  remain,  and,  much  to  our 
surprise  and  gratification,  nine  men  came  forward  to 
the  front  seats.  Blessed  be  God! 
"Your  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.        '  459 

"Darlington  Court  House,  October  10th,  1852. 

"My  very  dear  Son — You  recollect  what  I  told 
you  about  myself  when  I  was  preparing  for  the 
ministry — that  at  one  time  I  was  very  desponding. 
I  thought  that  I  would  never  be  fit  to  preach  to  any 
white  congregation,  but  was  finally  cheered  by  this 
thought  suddenly  flashing  on  my  mind,  that  there 
were  a  great  many  negroes  in  our  land,  and  perhaps 
I  might  able  to  preach  to  them.  It  is  said  of  the 
Saviour,  '  Having  loved  his  own  which  were  in  the 
world,  he  loved  them  unto  the  end.'  Even  so,  having 
seen  fit  to  bless  my  labours  at  the  very  first,  he  has 
continued  to  bless  them  to  the  very  last.  I  am  to 
preach  my  last  sermon  here  this  evening. 
"  In  haste,  your  ever  aff'ectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 
• 

The  pastor  of  the  Darlington  church  writes  to  a 
friend,  October  14th,  1852:  "Our  most  sanguine 
expectations  as  to  visible  results  have  been  realized. 
The  meeting,  commenced  September  25th,  and  closed 
on  the  following  Friday,  after  seven  days  continu- 
ance. Our  spacious  church  was  crowded  day  and 
night  to  its  utmost  capacity,  to  the  close.  People  of 
all  denominations  flocked  to  hear  the  stranger  from 
Texas;  even  some  of  the  Jews  came  to  hear  him  ex- 
plain the  Old  Testament  prophecies.  On  the  third 
day,  any  who  were  seriously  impressed  were  invited 
to  meet  in  the  session-room,  when  six  persons  were 
found  earnestly  seeking  the  way  of  life.  Before  the 
close  of  this  meeting  the  pastor  had  the  unspeak- 
able pleasure  of  embracing  his  own  son  as  a  hopeful 
convert.     From  this  time  the  meeting  increased  in 


460  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

interest    and   influence   to   the    end.      The    largest 
number  of  inquirers,  at  one  time,  was  about  sixty. 
Twenty-seven  are  now  cherishing  the  hope  of  hav- 
ing passed  into  the  marvellous  light  of  the  gospel. 
There  are  others  earnestly  seeking  the  pearl  of  great 
price.     The  professed    converts    are    chiefly,   if  not 
entirely,  the  children  of  pious  parents,  children  of 
the  covenant.     A  majority  of  them  are  young  men, 
and  promise  much  usefidness  in  the  Church.     The 
good  Spirit  seems  to  have  paved  the  way  for  the 
earnest  preaching  of  the  stranger  from  Texas ;  they 
were   a  people  prepared  of  the  Lord.     Dr.  Baker's 
preaching  is  eminently  Calvinistic.    The  doctrines  of 
our  Church — the  divine  sovereignty,  election,  total 
depravity,  vicarious  atonement,  and  eflicacious  grace, 
were   prominently   exhibited.      The   most    melting, 
effective  discourse,  probably,  was  from   the  words, 
(John  vi.  44,)  'No  man  can  come  to  me,  except  the 
Father,  which  hath  sent  me,  draw  him.'     Great  still- 
ness and  solemnity  characterized  the  large  assemblies. 
It  was  truly  an  interesting  spectacle  to  behold  a  sea 
of  uplifted  faces,  with  many  streaming  eyes,  directed 
towards  the  speaker,  as  the  words  of  eternal  life  fell 
from  his  lips.     A  community  that  will  listen  atten- 
tively to  the  truths  so  solemnly,  simply,  and  earnestly 
delivered,  must  be  greatly  benefitted,  though  there 
be  no  immediate  effect  produced.     The  graces  of  old 
disciples   have    been   rekindled.      "Were    the    same 
amount  of  pious  zeal  and  individual  faithfulness  kept 
up  to  its  full  tension,  as  it  might  be,  revivals  of  reli- 
gion would  be  of  frequent  occurrence.     Entire  con- 
secration to  God,  on  the  part  of  the  membership  of 
the  church,  doubtless,  was   the  secret  of  the  rapid 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  461 

spread  of  the  gospel  in  primitive  times.  Dr.  Baker's 
labours  have  been  very  abundant,  averaging  five  or 
six  hours  of  continuous  speaking  each  day  for  a  week 
together." 

It  may  be  mentioned  here  as  a  singular  fact,  that 
such  Arminians  as  heard  his  doctrinal  discourses 
heartily  concurred  in  them  as  the  gospel  truth.  "  But 
he  is  a  good  Methodist,  he  does  not  preach  the  doc- 
trines of  his  Church,"  they  would  triumphantly 
declare,  until  at  last  made  aware  that  two  of  the 
sermons,  to  which  they  most  cordially  subscribed, 
were  published  by  the  Board  of  Publication  as  among 
their  standards.  The  truth  is,  Dr.  Baker  presented 
these  doctrines  so  clearly,  both  as  to  their  foundation 
and  inferences;  proved  them  so  from  reason,  revela- 
tion, and  Christian  experience,  as  to  make  it  evident 
that  they  are  indeed  the  gospel  itself,  in  all  its  free- 
ness  and  fulness,  in  all  its  sweetness  and  power. 
His  whole  aim  was  to  do  as  Scripture  does — exalt 
God,  and  humble  man — place  the  almighty  Sovereign 
and  the  offending  subject  in  their  actual  relations  to 
each  other;  and  this,  in  order  to  show  how  infinite 
the  love  of  God  in  stooping  to  save,  and  how  abso- 
lutely essential  the  need,  and  certain  the  salvation  of 
such  a  Saviour. 

Another  eye-witness  of  the  meetings  at  this 
period — and  these  are  but  specimens  of  the  meetings 
in  which  he  engaged  over  a  large  part  of  the  land, 
and  during  his  whole  life — thus  speaks: 

"  The  churches  in  Harmony  Presbytery  have  been 
recently  blessed  with  very  unusual  revivals  of  reli- 
gion.    In   ten   congregations   where   these  revivals 
39* 


462  LIFE    AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

have  occurred,  more  than  three  hundred  and  twenty 
persons  have  been  added  to  the  church;  and  it  is 
remarkable  that  the  most  of  these  are  men,  of  whom 
a  considerable  number  are  seriously  pondering  their 
duty  in  regard  to  the  sacred  ministry.  This  precious 
harvest  consists,  for  the  most  part,  of  intelligent  and 
educated  men.  Besides  the  addition  of  so  large  a 
number,  and  of  such  an  important  class,  whose  influ- 
ence must  materially  affect  the  cause  of  religion,  a 
gracious  and  profound  awakening  has  pervaded  this 
part  of  our  State,  reaching  the  most  obdurate  of  the 
impenitent — either  melting  them  to  tears,  or  trans- 
fixing them  with  solemn  thought.  Very  few,  indeed, 
have  escaped  the  powerful  appeals  and  intricate 
search ings  of  the  word  of  God. 

"Dr.  Baker,  of  Texas,  the  well  known  veteran — 
venerable,  both  for  his  silvered  locks,  and  for  the 
many  signal  instances,  in  years  past,  in  which  God 
has  blessed  his  labours — has  been  among  us,  and  has 
again  witnessed  the  very  marked  seal  of  the  Spirit 
upon  his  preaching.  Vigorous,  lively,  indefatigable, 
with  a  soul  fully  charged  with  the  divine  message, 
his  impassioned  eloquence  has  been  irresistible.  He 
had  commenced  a  tour  through  this  part  of  our  State 
on  an  agency  for  Austin  College,  but  was  completely 
borne  away  from  his  premeditated  course  by  a  sweep- 
ing tide.  One  importunate  call  after  another  drew 
him  along  from  place  to  place,  where  his  efforts  have 
been  signally  owned  in  developing  the  fruit  of  good 
seed,  that  has  been  sowing  for  months  and  years  in  a 
good  soil.  All  things,  indeed,  seem  to  have  been  in 
readiness  for  the  development  of  these  revivals.  The 
ready  and  cordial  response  of  the  hearts  of  our  people 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  463 

to  the  word  of  God,  denotes  that  the  soil  was  in 
readiness,  the  seed  cast  already  germinating,  and 
but  awaited  the  shower  from  heaven  to  spring  into 
life;  and,  like  the  shooting  of  the  new  plant  into 
day,  silent  and  imperceptible:  when  souls  were 
awakened,  the  great  Spirit  composed  the  congrega- 
tion into  profound  stillness,  that  he  might  speak  to 
the  conscience.  Such  was  the  characteristic  order 
and  stillness  of  our  congregations,  and  so  general  the 
feeUng,  that  the  awakened  and  inquiring  were  not 
always  easily  distinguished  from  the  multitude.  To 
effect  this,  each  pastor  and  session  adopted  the 
method  most  approved  in  his  own  congregation.  No 
'new  measures'  were  resorted  to  in  order  to  arouse 
the  feelings.  These  were  rendered  unnecessary  by 
the  Spirit  of  God. 

"It  is  especially  gratifying  to  state  that  the  dis- 
tinctive points  of  our  Old-school  theology  were 
clearly,  fully,  and  faithfully  preached.  It  has  been 
imagined  that  these  are  calculated  to  check  the  pro- 
gress of  a  revival,  and  have,  therefore,  been  avoided 
on  such  occasions.  But  so  far  as  my  observation  has 
extended,  I  am  free  to  say  that  I  think  the  reli- 
gious movement  among  us  is  due  mainly  to  the 
plain,  frank,  undisguised  presentation  of  these  great 
doctrines  in  their  own  solemn  Scripture  attire.  The 
sovereign  purpose  of  God  in  election,  the  vicarious 
atonement  of  Christ,  the  total  inability  of  the  sinner, 
the  instantaneous  work  of  regeneration,  the  perse- 
verance of  the  saints;  these,  in  all  their  glorious 
beauty  and  sweetness  to  the  believer,  in  all  their 
startling  terror  to  the  sinner,  were  set  forth,  without 
reserve,   as   the   counsel  of  God.      The   singularly 


464  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF   THE 

happy  arguments  and  illustrations  of  tlie  venerable 
Texan  who  was  with  us,  and  his  peculiar  skill  in 
detecting  where  these  great  doctrines  underlie  the 
Christian's  peace  and  joy,  disarmed  all  gainsayings, 
and  united  the  hearts  of  different  denominations  in 
perfect  harmony.  A  beautiful  and  cordial  union 
prevails;  Presbyterians,  Methodists,  and  Baptists, 
commingled  their  tears  under  the  droppings  of  a 
sublime  Calvinistic  theology.  The  scene  was  novel 
and  intensely  engaging.  Truly  our  great  doctrines 
are  all  involved  in  the  plan  of  redemption,  and  all 
true  Christians  feed  upon  them.  May  all  our  bre- 
thren be  encouraged  to  lay  aside  a  trembling  deli- 
cacy, and,  grasping  the  sharp  tools  of  the  word  of 
God  with  a  firm  faith,  as  wise  builders,  build  up  the 
walls  of  our  spiritual  temple." 

Eesuming  the  autobiography,  we  find  that  the 
results  of  this,  his  third  tour  for  the  College,  are 
thus  summed  up.  Speaking  of  the  meeting  in  Sum- 
terville,  already  alluded  to,  he  says: 

This  was  the  commencement  of  a  series  of  revivals, 
chiefly  in  the  Black  River  churches,  in  which,  during 
the  space-  of  three  months,  about  three  hundred  and 
fifty  precious  souls  were  brought  in,  the  majority 
of  whom  were  young  men.  This  number,  however, 
includes  those  brought  in  at  Williamsburg,  Darling- 
ton, Marion,  Midway,  and  some  other  places  not 
now  recollected.  Free-will  offerings  to  the  College 
poured  in  in  a  wonderful  manner.  Heavy  remit- 
tances were  sent  home.  It  was  one  check  after 
another;  the  whole  amounting,  I  think,  to  nearly 
six  thousand  dollars.     Besides  these,  "small  tokens 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  465 

of  affection"  were  pressed  upon  my  acceptance.  The 
complimentary  notes  accompanying  these  presents 
I  laid  aside  very  carefully,  to  be  laid  before  the 
Trustees  or  Executive  Committee  of  the  College, 
that  they  might  make  such  a  disposition  of  the 
money  as  they  might  think  proper.  Crowned  with 
most  extraordinary  success,  both  as  agent  of  the 
College  and  herald  of  salvation,  I  was  returning 
home  in  October  in  high  spirits,  and  with  a  grateful 
heart,  when  I  found  the  poet  had  but  too  much 
reason  to  say: 

"  We  should  suspect  some  danger  nigh, 
Where  we  possess  delight." 

On  my  way  home  I  was  robbed ! 

The  circumstances  of  this  robbery  are  detailed  in 
the  following  letter  to  his  wife: 

"Montgomery,  Alabama,  Nov.  10th,  1852. 

"My  precious  Wife — Here  I  am,  fast  anchored 
still;  but  I  have  not  been  lying  upon  my  oars.  I 
have  visited  West  Point  and  Lafayette,  at  each  of 
which  places  I  have  preached  with  some  success,  and 
have  done  something  also  for  the  College.  *  *  * 
You  would  like  a  little  history  of  the  affair.  Well, 
I  will  give  it.  The  first  time  I  saw  the  man,  (Kean, 
Kane,  or  King,)  was  on  the  car  the  other  side 
of  Hamburg.  A  little  incident  marked  our  first 
acquaintance.  It  was  a  warm  afternoon,  and  I  was 
upon  the  sunny  side.  The  car  was  pretty  much 
crowded;  but  on  the  shady  side,  where  was  also  a 
pleasant  breeze,  I  saw  this  man  and  his  wife,  occu- 
pying a  double  seat,  having  another  double  seat  so 


466  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

turned  over  as  to  furnish  a  resting-place  for  his 
lady's  foot.  Upon  this  double  seat  no  person  was 
sitting;  and  thinking  that  I  needed  the  cool  shade 
and  the  pleasant  breeze  more  than  the  lady's  foot  or 
the  carpet-bag  which  I  saw  there,  I  went  and  pro- 
posed to  turn  the  double  seat  over,  that  it  might  be 
occupied  by  myself  In  attempting  to  make  this 
reasonable  arrangement,  he  repelled  me  rudely. 
'Sir,'  said  I,  'you  have  more  than  your  share.' 
Saying  this,  I  returned  to  my  old  seat  on  the  warm 
and  sunny  side;  but  after  a  while,  thinking  that  I 
might  have  appeared  wanting  in  politeness  to  the 
lady,  who  was  also  concerned,  I  went  back  and  made 
some  slight  apology.  I  ought  to  have  done  no  such 
thing;  but  I  could  not  think  of  being  guilty  of  any 
rudeness,  even  in  appearance,  to  a  lady. 

"When  we  reached  the  terminus,  and  were  about 
to  exchange  the  car  for  stages,  the  trunks  of  the 
passengers  were  put  down  upon  the  ground  in  an 
open  space.  I  opened  my  trunk  and  took  out  some 
gold  to  pay  my  fare.  Kean,  it  seems,  was  present 
when  I  opened  my  trunk,  and  noticed  where  my 
money  was  kept;  and  I  believe,  from  that  moment 
marked  me  for  his  victim.  Arriving  at  Lagrange, 
he  left  his  companion  there,  evidently  that  he  might 
be  more  free  to  act. 

"On  getting  into  the  cars  at  West  Point,  he  took 
the  seat  immediately  behind  me,  and  became  very 
gracious.  He  ascertained  that  I  was  going  to  Texas, 
and  he  gave  me  to  understand  that  he  was  going  to 
Mobile.  So  it  was  agreed  that  when  we  got  on 
board  the  steamboat  at  Montgomery,  we  should 
occupy  the    same   state-room.     He    must  have  first 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D. 


467 


made  the  proposition,  for  I  think  I  never  could  have 
done  such  a  thing.     On  reaching   Montgomery,  as 
there  was  a  boat  about  to  start,  I  went  immediately 
on  board.     He  came  immediately  after,  and  had  his 
name  registered  for  the  same  state-room,  taking  the 
upper  berth.     Coming  into  the  room  about  eleven 
o'clock  on  Tuesday  night,  October  12th,  I  observed: 
'We  have  a  very  pleasant  room.'     'I  don't  like  it,' 
said  he,  'for  it  is  just  over  the  boilers.'     'You  can 
get  another  room,  I  presume,  sir,'  was  my  reply. 
But  no;  the  fear  of  the  boilers  could  not  induce  him 
to    change   his    quarters.      That   very   night,    as   it 
seems,  he  came  in  about  midnight  from  the  gaming- 
table, and  perceiving  that  I  was  fast  asleep,  he  took 
the  keys  out  of  my  pocket,  and  quietly  opening  my 
trunk,  his  nimble  fingers  soon  made  their  way  to  my 
money-box;  and  rifling  it  of  its  contents,  gold  and 
bank  bills  to    the   amount  of  about   one   thousand 
dollars,   he   then   put  every   thing   in   good   order, 
locked  the  trunk,  and  putting  the  keys  where  he  had 
found  them,  got  into  his  berth,  and  there  remained 
until  after  I  had  arisen  in  the  morning.     He  was 
then  very  impatient  to  get  off;  at  eleven  o'clock  he 
did  get  off  at  Prairie  Bluff.     When  the  boat  reached 
that^ace,  my  virtuous  friend  came  to  me  in  a  state 
of  much  excitement,  and  said,  'Mr.    Baker,  I  am 
going  to  take   a  ride  with  a  friend;'  and  without 
bidding  me  good-by,  he  went  away,  being  careful  to 
have  his  trunk  taken  out  by  the  back  door. 

"Some  three  or  four  hours  after  he  had  thus  taken 
'  French  leave'  of  me,  I  opened  my  trunk,  when  lo ! 
to  my  astonishment  and  horror,  I  found  that  my 
money-box  was  light  and  empty.     Calling  a  friend, 


i68  LIFE    AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

I  made  known  to  him  the  astounding  fact.  He 
called  the  captain,  and  soon  the  affair  was  made 
known  to  all  on  board.  There  was  a  consultation. 
A  general  search  was  proposed;  but  it  was  plain 
that  no  one  could  have  taken  the  money  but  he  who 
had  occupied  the  same  room  with  myself 

"  The  next  thing  was  to  get  some  efficient  man  to 
go  in  pursuit  of  him.  One  B.  consented  to  enter 
upon  the  chase.  He  and  myself,  therefore,  got  on 
board  of  the  first  steamboat  we  met  going  up  the 
river.  We  did  not  reach  Prairie  Bluff  until  after 
breakfast  the  next  morning;  so  the  thief  had  about 
twenty  hours  the  start  of  us.  Here,  sending  Mr.  B. 
one  way,  it  was  thought  advisable  that  I  should  take 
another.  Whilst  I  was  endeavouring  to  hire  a  horse 
for  myself,  which  detained  me  one  full  hour,  up 
drove  Major  H.  in  a  buggy,  having  one  spare  seat. 
'  There,'  said  a  friend,  '  there  goes  the  very  man  that 
will  suit  you.  He  is  the  ex-sheriff  of  this  county, 
and  understands  such  matters.'  Although  he  was 
driving  very  rapidly,  I  ran  after  him  and  hailed  him. 
Telling  him  my  story  he  became  much  interested, 
and,  although  it  was  very  inconvenient  for  him  to 
undertake  the  pursuit,  he  consented.  Jumping  into 
his  buggy,  we  rode  about  ten  miles  to  the  house  of  a 
friend,  there  got  a  fresh  horse,  and  then,  I  assure 
you.  Major  H.  was  off,  as  the  saying  is,  like  a  streak 
of  lightning.  As  the  well-trained  hound  chases  the 
deer,  nor  easily  misses  the  track,  so  it  was  with  the 
ex-sheriff. 

"  We  rode  nearly  all  night,  and,  devious  as  were 
the  windings  of  the  thief,  my  friend  did  not,  for  one 
moment,  lose  the  scent.     Perceiving  that  the  chase 


RET.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  469 

would  be  a  long  one,  Major  H.  concluded  to  go  to  a 
town  where  there  was  a  telegraph  office.  From  this 
he  sent  a  dispatch  to  the  Marshal  at  Montgomery, 
whither  he  knew  the  thief  was  hastening.  There 
the  man  was  arrested — lightning  struck!  and  there, 
to  his  utter  astonishment,  found  lodgings  provided 
for  him,  not  in  the  hotel,  but  in  the  jail.  Being 
searched,  about  six  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  were 
found  upon  him  in  gold  and  South  CaroHna  bills, 
agreeing  most  marvellously  with  what  I  had  seen  a 
few  days  before  in  my  own  strong  box ! 

"  I  hurried  to  Montgomery,  and  paid  my  old  room- 
mate a  visit.  As  I  entered  the  apartment  where  he 
was  confined,  he  reached  out  his  hand  to  me,  saying, 
'Mr.  Baker,  I  know  you!'  Taking  his  hand,  I  re- 
plied, 'And  I  know  you,  sir!' — and  added,  'Mr. 
Kean,  you  have  put  me  to  great  inconvenience;  I 
did  not  think  you  would  have  served  me  so!'  'Mr. 
Baker,'  said  he,  'I  know  your  person,  but  I  know 
nothing  about  your  affairs!^  If  he  should  be  con- 
victed and  sent  to  the  penitentiary,  some  good  will 
have  been  done;  not  so  much,  indeed,  as  if  he  had 
been  convicted  and  converted  by  my  instrumentality. 

"  The  doctrine  of  a  Divine  Providence,  as  manifest 
in  this  whole  affair,  is  a  blessed  doctrine;  and, 
although  this  is  not  exactly  the  state  of  rewards 
and  punishments,  yet  '  those  who  notice  providences, 
shall  have  providences  to  notice.'  I  believe  that,  in 
some  way  or  other,  the  hand  of  God  is  in  it.  He 
has,  at  any  rate,  permitted  it.  It  must  be  so,  for,  if 
any  event  takes  place  without  the  divine  permission, 
it  must  be  either  because  God  is  not  aware  of  it,  or 
cannot  prevent  it.  If  he  is  not  aware  of  it,  he  cannot 
40 


470  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

be  omniscient;  if  he  cannot  prevent  it,  he  cannot  be 
omnipotent. 

"The  morning  after  reaching  Montgomery  to 
attend  this  trial,  I  was  reading  Psalm  11th,  and  was 
struck  with  these  words,  'The  Lord  loveth  the 
righteous.'  Poor  sinner  that  I  am,  the  Lord  Jesus 
is  made  unto  me  'righteousness,'  and,  therefore,  in 
him  I  am  righteous;  and  so  I  applied  the  passage  to 
myself.  I  do  believe  that  all  will  be  overruled  for 
good.  Friends  here  are  very  kind.  One  of  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  most  splendid  hotel  in  the  place, 
finding  me  there,  although  an  utter  stranger  to  me, 
kindly  remarked,  'Mr.  Baker,  are  you  staying  herel 
If,  sir,  you  think  proper  to  stay  at  this  hotel,  it  shall 
cost  you  nothing.' 

"Your  affectionate  husband, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  a  son.) 

"Montgomery,  Alabama,  Nov.  12th,  1852. 

"  It  is  a  fact,  simple,  Bible  exhibitions  of  divine 
truth,  are,  of  all  others,  the  most  effective,  and  no 
illustrations  are  so  beautiful  and  touching  as  those 
drawn  from  God's  blessed  word.  There  is  a  sweet- 
ness and  a  charm  about  them  truly  wonderful ;  they 
fall  pleasantly  upon  the  ear;  they  come  down  with 
sweet  and  hallowed  influence  upon  the  heart;  they 
please  the  rude  and  illiterate  rustic,  and  also  the  man 
of  literary  taste  and  the  finished  scholar.  For  what 
was  ApoUos  commended'?  Because  he  was  'mighty 
in  the  Scriptures.'  And  was  not  this  the  thing 
which  gave  a  charm  and  a  power  seldom  known  to 
the   preaching   of    Summerfield]      My   son,   whilst 


REV.    DANIEL  BAKER,  D.  D.  471 

others  make  a  parade  of  learning,  and  boast  of  their 
knowledge  of  German  literature,  be  it  your  praise 
that,  in  scriptural  language,  and  with  simplicity  and 
power,  you  preach  Christ  and  him  crucified,  as  the 
world's  last  and  only  hope.  This  single  sentence, 
'  It  is  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation, 
that  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sin- 
ners,' is  worth  a  thousand  of  such  sermons  as  are,  in 
some  places,  most  admired.  I  greatly  desire  that 
you  should  have  your  whole  heart  engaged  in  your 
Master's  service.  In  this  way  you  will  find  more 
pleasure  in  your  ministerial  work,  and  your  labours 
will  be  more  abundantly  blessed.  Remember  what 
is  written,  'Him  that  honoureth  me  I  will  honour, 
and  he  that  despiseth  me  shall  be  lightly  esteemed.' 
Never  take  your  eye  from  the  cross  crimsoned  with 
a  Saviour's  blood!  Think  much  on  the  subject  of 
eternity;  think  of  its  nearness,  its  reality,  its  gran- 
deur ;  and,  with  quenchless  and  untiring  zeal,  work, 
my  son,  whilst  the  day  lasts,  remembering  that  soon 
the  night  cometh  when  no  man  can  work.  In  your 
preaching,  aim  at  being  clear,  convincing,  powerful, 
and  tender  too;  feel  what  you  say." 

(to  his  daughter.) 

•'Montgomery,  November  22d,  1852. 

"  *  *  *  Still  here.  If  my  patience  is  not  made 
perfect,  certainly  it  will  not  be  for  want  of  being 
sufficiently  tried.  Kean's  case  is  postponed.  My  dear 
nephew  here  was  mortally  wounded  the  day  before 
yesterday,  by  the  discharge  of  a  cannon,  whilst  the 
company  to  which  he  belonged  was  firing  minute 
guns  on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  Daniel  Webster. 


472  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

While  he  was  ramming  down  the  cartridge,  the  gun 
went  off,  and,  sad  to  relate,  your  cousin  had  both 
arms  completely  shattered,  and  one  eye  seriously 
injured,  besides  receiving  other  wounds  of  a  danger- 
ous character.  Poor  fellow!  he  was  taken  to  his 
house  on  a  mattrass,  in  great  agony,  and  presented  a 
frightful  sight ;  both  of  his  hands  blown  off,  and  the 
bones  of  his  arms  not  only  shattered,  but  mashed  as 
if  they  had  been  pounded  by  some  heavy  weight. 
The  morning  after,  several  of  his  fingers  were  picked 
up  in  the  street,  quite  a  handful  of  them.  They 
were  shown  to  me,  wrapped  up  in  a  paper.  Poor, 
dear  Joseph !  I  had  for  several  days  been  a  most  wel- 
come guest  of  his.  I  was  standing  in  the  portico  of 
the  court-house,  just  opposite  where  the  cannon  was 
situated.  I  saw  the  flash,  but  little  did  I  know  what 
awful  damage  had  been  done.  I  was  sent  for,  and 
was  soon  in  the  chamber  of  my  poor,  dear,  suffering 
nephew.  Seizing  with  eagerness  every  opportunity, 
I  talked  and  prayed  with  him.  It  seemed  to  him, 
and  his  wife  also,  a  remarkable  and  kind  Providence, 
that  had  so  ordered  it  that  I  should  be  with  him  at 
this  hour  of  deep  and  overwhelming  affliction ;  and  I 
have  reason  to  beheve  that  I  was  made  the  humble 
and  honoured  instrument  of  leading  him  to  Christ  in 
his  last  hour.  If  so,  is  it  not  well  that  I  wa^  in 
Montgomery  just  at  this  time"?  Who  knows  but 
one  reason  why  I  was  brought  here,  and  detained 
here,  was,  that  I  might  be  instrumental  in  doing  my 
nephew  much  good'?  This  idea  has  cheered  me  not 
a  little,  and  has  almost  reconciled  me  to  my  long  and 
grievous  detention. 

"The  trouble  brought  upon  me  by  Kean  has  truly 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  473 

been  of  a  serious  nature;  but  what  is  this  to  that 
which  has  come  upon  my  nephew  and  his  afflicted 
wife '?  Only  the  other  day  I  was  telling  him  of  what 
had  befallen  me.  Little  did  I  then  know  that  a  ten- 
fold heavier  calamity  was  hanging  over  him.  Of  a 
truth  this  is  a  vale  of  tears,  a  world  of  sorrow;  and 
well  has  it  been  said,  '  We  know  not  what  a  day 
may  bring  forth.'  Surely  'there  is  nothing  true, 
there  is  nothing  firm,  there  is  nothing  sweet,  but 
heaven.'     Happy  he  who  can  say, 

God  is  mine  all-sufficient  good, 

My  portion  and  my  choice ; 
In  him  my  vast  desires  are  filled, 

And  all  my  powers  rejoice.' 

"I  need  not  send  love;  you  all  know  my  heart. 
Adieu. 

Daniel  Baker." 

We  resume  the  autobiography. 

The  amount  stolen  was  about  one  thousand  dol- 
lars, of  which  about  six  hundred  and  sixty-six  was 
recovered.  As  I  had  been  in  the  habit  of  making 
remittances  with  great  promptness  as  money  was 
collected  for  the  College,  the  amount  stolen  was 
nearly  all  my  own;  and,  in  making  out  my  account 
with  the  Treasurer,  as  may  be  seen  by  reference  to 
the  books,  I  charged  myself  with  the  whole  amount, 
and  the  College  lost  nothing.  This  I  could  afford  to 
do,  inasmuch  as  by  a  formal  and  recorded  vote  of  the 
Executive  Committee  I  was  permitted  to  retain  what, 
as  stated  in  the  complimentary  notes,  was  intended 
for  myself  personally.  This  affair  of  the  robbery  was 
a  serious  drawback  to  many  pleasant  things  con- 
40* 


474  LIFE  AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

nected  with  this  tour.  But,  upon  the  whole,  it  was 
a  prosperous  one;  and,  returning  home,  and  finding 
no  breach  there,  but  every  thing  pleasant,  and  the 
College  doing  well,  I  thought  that,  after  all,  I  had 
much  reason  for  thankfulness  and  joy.  / 

During  February,  1853,  Dr.  Baker  leaves  Hunts- 
ville  upon  his  fourth  tour  on  behalf  of  the  College. 
The  following  extracts  are  made  from  the  many  let- 
ters written  home  by  him  during  this  absence. 

(to  his  daughter.) 

"Savannah,  May  Ith.  1853. 

'^  I  have  visited  once  more  the  scenes  of  my  nati- 
-vdty.  Of  a  truth,  there  is  a  power  in  association; 
and  when  I  was  lately  amidst  the  scenes  of  my  early 
childhood,  this  power  of  association  waked  up  in  my 
bosom  feelings  both  pleasant  and  mournful  to  my 
soul;  for, 

'  Is  there  a  heart  so  cold,  so  dead, 
That  never  to  itself  hath  said, 
This  is  my  own,  my  native  land  V 

Having  not  been  there  for  some  twenty-two  years,  I 
really  felt  that  I  was  '  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land,' 
so  many  changes  had  taken  place.  I  tried  to  find 
out  the  very  spot  where  I  first  breathed  the  breath 
of  life;  but  the  house  was  gone,  and  the  plough  had 
passed  over  the  place.  All  the  shade-trees  had  dis- 
appeared, and  not  even  a  stump  was  left  to  mark  my 
early  romping-ground.  The  ditch,  too,  where  with 
pin-hook  and  thread  I  was  wont,  in  my  childhood, 
to  catch  the  perch  and  the  bream,  was  filled  up. 
Every  thing  was  changed,  and  so  changed,  that  I 
could  scarcely  recognize  the  place  of  my  birth,  sixty- 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  475 

two  years  ago.  And  although  I  had  repeatedly 
visited  Midway  settlement  since  entering  the  minis- 
try, and  was  there  in  the  year  1831,  still  I  was,  as 
already  said,  '  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land,'  there 
were  so  many  new  faces. 

"  On  Sabbath  I  cast  my  eyes  over  the  congrega- 
tion— every  thing  was  new — so  many  strange  faces; 
and  even  the  few  known  before,  had  undergone  sur- 
prising changes.  Cheeks  were  furrowed  which  were 
smooth,  and  locks  had  become  almost  as  white  as 
snow  which  had  been  black  as  a  raven.  It  really 
seemed  that  I  belonged  to  the  men  of  another  gene- 
ration, and  had  come  back  from  the  spirit-land! 
Truly,  I  felt  as  if  I  was  '  in  the  midst  of  posterity.' 
I  need  not  tell  you  that  many  faces  smiled  upon 
me,  and  that  I  was  cordially  welcomed  every  where. 
Moreover,  it  pleased  God  to  bless  my  preaching  to 
the  conversion  of  some,  I  hope,  and  to  the  reviving 
of  many  more.  Without  making  personal  applica- 
tion to  a  single  individual,  the  contributions  to  Aus- 
tin College  amounted  to  two  hundred  and  forty-two 
dollars.  O,  how  good  has  the  Lord  been  to  me  in 
giving  me  so  many  friends,  and  in  so  remarkably 
blessing  my  labours  almost  in  every  place.  To  his 
great  name  be  all  the  praise! 

"  Tell  your  mother  that  my  pipe  has  been  thrown 
away  long  time  ago;  I  have  not  touched  it  since  I 
left  Huntsville,  except  to  cast  it  from  me,  as  an  ugly 
thing  which  I  wished  to  see  no  more.  Was  not  this 
a  good  example  1 

"  Your  ever  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 


476  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

(TO    HIS   WIFE.) 

"Charlestox,  May  20th,  1853. 

"I  have  received  a  good  many  letters,  but  only 
one  from  you,  and  that  a  short  one.  With  regard  to 
myself,  I  am  getting  along  much  in  the  old  way; 
and  that,  I  am  happy  to  say,  is  very  well,  both  as  a 
preacher  and  agent.  My  labours  have  recently  been 
blessed  to  the  hopeful  conversion  of  a  goodly  num- 
ber, two  of  whom,  I  hope,  will  devote  themselves  to 
the  gospel  ministry.  Last  Sabbath  night  a  young 
lady  was  struck  under  pungent  c.onviction,  at  Beau- 
fort. She  was  so  much  wrought  upon  that  she 
threw  her  arms  around  her  mother,  in  church,  and 
wept  aloud.  On  the  day  following,  she  was  rejoicing 
in  Christ.  My  agency  has  been  prospered.  On  the 
17th  inst.,  only  three  days  ago,  I  sent  home  a  check 
for  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars ;  to-day  I  enclose 
another  for  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  dollars. 
This  will  be,  in  all,  poured  into  the  treasury,  in  cash, 
since  I  left  Huntsville,  sixteen  hundred  dollars. 
This  is  doing  better  than  I  expected.  My  visits 
both  to  Savannah  and  Midway  were  very  pleasant. 
Many  friends  greeted  me  welcome.  Surely  goodness 
and  mercy  attend  my  steps  wherever  I  go!  O  for  a 
more  thankful  heart!  This  morning  one  of  the 
merchant  princes  of  this  place  sent  to  ofi'er  me  the 
use  of  his  carriage  and  servant  for  the  day.  What  a 
genteel  beggar  I  am! — riding  about  like  a  gentle- 
man in  a  fine  carriage !  But  I  must  close  abruptly. 
Love  to  all. 

"In  haste,  your  affectionate  husband, 

Daniel  Baker." 


REV.   DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  477 

(to  his  wife.) 

"Salisbury,  North  Carolina,  July  8th,  1853. 

"At  last  your  letter  has  come  to  hand;  it  was 
dated  the  14th  of  June — 'better  late  than  never.' 
And  right  glad  I  am  to  be  able  to  inform  you  that 
all  my  labours  of  late  have  been  remarkably  blessed. 
One  revival  after  another  in  quick  succession!  I 
believe  I  told  you  about  my  meetings  in  Wynns- 
boro'  and  Horeb  church,  South  Carolina,  in  which 
twenty-four  persons  were  permitted  to  cherish,  as  we 
trust,  a  good  hope  in  Christ;  six  of  whom  were  the 
sons  of  pastors  and  ruHng  elders!  The  meeting  held 
at  Charlotte  was  one  of  the  most  delightful  I  ever 
attended  in  all  my  life,  forty-seven  professed  con- 
version, amongst  whom  were  four  lawyers,  two  phy- 
sicians, six  merchants,  and  a  pretty  large  number  of 
gay  and  fashionable  young  ladies. 

"From  Charlotte  I  went  to  Davidson  College, 
some  twenty  miles  distant.  The  meeting  commenced 
on  Thursday  night,  and  closed  on  Wednesday  morn- 
ing following.  We  had  overflowing  congregations ; 
for  the  most  part  three  times  a  day.  Nineteen  of 
the  students  professed  conversion ;  and  besides  these, 
some  ten  or  twelve  persons  more,  not  connected  with 
the  College. 

"At  Wynsboro',  where  it  was  doubtful  whether  I 
could  get  one  hundred  dollars,  I  received  more  than 
two  hundred!  At  Horeb,  a  small  church  in  the 
country,  where  the  amount  anticipated  was  no  more 
than  some  thirty  or  forty,  it  proved  to  be  one  round 
hundred.  At  Charlotte,  where  not  much  was  ex- 
pected, I  received  in  subscriptions,  paid  and  not  paid, 


478  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

nearly  five  hundred  dollars !  And  at  Davidson  Col- 
lege, where  the  President  said  he  thought  I  could 
not  get  more  than  thirty  or  forty  dollars,  I  received 
nearly  three  hundred !  In  two  places  I  had  to  tell 
them  to — hold!  I  had  enough;  and  I  wished  them 
to  give  no  more. 

"  I  stated  the  number  of  converts  in  Charlotte  at 
forty-seven,  but  by  a  letter  recently  received  from  the 
pastor,  the  present  number  is  fifty.  How  good  has 
the  Lord  been  to  me,  blessing  my  preaching  to  the 
conversion  of  so  many  souls !  This  reminds  me  of 
Paul's  paradox,  'As  poor,  yet  making  many  rich.' 
To  God  be  all,  all  the  praise ! 

"  With  affectionate  salutations,  your  old  husband, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  the  same.) 

"Rocky  River  Church,  Penicks,  July  2Sth,  1853. 

"  Help  me  to  bless  the  Lord  for  his  goodness,  and 
for  his  wonderful  works  to  me,  and  to  the  people 
round  about  here !  I  thought  the  meeting  in  Char- 
lotte was  a  glorious  one,  which  lasted  some  ten  or 
twelve  days,  and  was  blessed  to  the  hopeful  conver- 
sion of  some  fifty  precious  souls.  I  thought  that  the 
meeting  at  Davidson  College,  which  was  of  scarcely 
seven  days'  continuance,  and  turned  out  more  than 
thirty  converts,  of  whom  twenty-two  were  College 
students,  was  also  a  glorious  meeting;  but  I  must 
say,  that  the  meeting  at  Kocky  River  church,  which 
closed  yesterday,  seems  to  bear  off  the  palm.  Com- 
mencing on  Thursday,  it  wound  up  on  the  following 
Wednesday;  and,  to  our  joy  and  astonishment,  some 
seventy  or  eighty  persons  occupied  the  seats  assigned 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  479 

to  young  converts !  Of  these,  some  forty-five  or  fifty 
were  promising  sons  of  pious  parents.  What  a  har- 
vest reaped  down  in  one  week !  To  God  be  all  the 
praise!  How  thankful  should  I  be  that  my  voice 
fails  not,  although  I  am  made  to  do  all  the  preaching. 
"Now  in  relation  to  another  matter — for  the  ser- 
vices of  the  last  week  I  have  received  for  the  College 
nearly  three  hundred  dollars!  Surely  the  lines  have 
fallen  to  me  in  pleasant  places,  and  I  have  a  goodly 
heritage.  Blessed  be  God!  Yesterday  evening  I 
received  a  letter  from  a  pastor  not  far  distant,  who 
promises  me  three  hundred  dollars  for  the  College  if 
I  will  visit  his  church ! 

"  Your  affectionate  husband, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  one  op  his  sons.) 

"Poplar  Tent  Church,  August  6th,  1853, 

"Two  of  the  very  best  meetings  I  ever  attended 
in  all  my  life,  were  held  within  the  last  two  weeks, 
at  two  churches  in  the  country;  one  called  Rocky 
River  church,  and  the  other  Philadelphia.  Some 
eighty  or  more  were  brought  in  at  the  former,  and 
nearly  the  same  number  at  the  latter;  say  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  precious  souls  brought  to  Christ 
within  two  weeks!  To  God  be  all,  all  the  praise! 
But  indeed  I  have  laboured  very  hard — every  day 
speaking  some  four  or  five  hours;  and  the  churches 
being  so  near  each  other,  has,  I  assure  you,  put  me 
up  to  all  I  know  touching  the  matter  of  giving  new 
sermons;  for  you  must  observe,  that  although  in 
almost  every  place  we  have  a  '  raft'  of  ministers  pre- 


480  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

sent,  yet  in  no  single  place  can  I  get  one  of  them  to 
preach !  no,  not  a  solitary  sermon.  I  have  requested, 
I  have  urged  them  to  preach,  but  they  all  with  one 
consent  make  excuse !  The  crowds  attending  upon 
my  preaching  are  immense.  Tidings  have  gone 
forth  that  the  Lord  is  blessing  my  labours  in  a 
remarkable  manner,  and  the  people  pour  in  from 
all  quarters.  Eeally,  I  am  oppressed.  This  warm 
weather,  I  can  scarcely  stand  it!  Last  Sabbath  I 
suppose  that  more  than  two  thousand  persons  were 
present!  I  was  obliged  to  preach  in  the  open  air; 
and  being  almost  entirely  overcome,  I  had  actually 
to  take  my  seat,  and  preach  for  a  time  sitting! 
Although  it  is  cheering  to  know  that  of  late  the 
converts  have  averaged  some  four  or  fi.\e  to  each 
sermon,  yet  it  seems  sometimes  that  the  labour, 
under  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  case,  is  more 
than  I  can  stand;  and  I  confess  I  look  forward  with 
pleasure  to  the  time  when,  in  obedience  to  the 
Trustees,  I  shall  go  on  to  New  York  to  purchase  the 
apparatus  for  the  College.  With  regard  to  my 
success  as  agent,  it  has  been  far  beyond  my  most 
sanguine  expectations.  Hearts  opened* — purses  have 
been  opened  also;  and  in  some  cases  (one  in  parti- 
cular) the  silvery  stream  flowing  in,  has  been  swollen 
to  such  an  extent  that  I  had  to  check  it!  I  do  not, 
at  this  time,  know  precisely  how  matters  stand ;  but 
I  think  I  have,  since  leaving  Iluntsville,  (7th  March 
last)  added  to  the  finances  of  the  College  some  four 
thousand  dollars  in  cash!  How  thankful  should  I  be 
that  the  Lord  has  so  abundantly  blessed  my  labours 
of  love ;  for  if  I  had  not  been  blessed  in  my  preach- 


REV.  DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  481 

ing,  I  should  never  have  been  so  successful  in  my 
agency.  '  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  forget  not 
all  his  benefits !' 

"In  haste  your  ever  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  his  daughter.) 

"Providence  Church,  August  19th,  1853. 

"  My  beloved  Daughter — I  wrote  to  your  mother 
not  long  since,  and  I  have  now  nothing  new  to  say, 
save  that  I  still  continue  to  preach  incessantly — that 
I  am  still  greatly  prospered,  and,  wonderful  to  tell, 
my  voice  as  clear  as  a  bell!  The  meeting  at  Poplar 
Tent  church  closed  last  Wednesday  week,  holding 
on  not  quite  six  days.  About  sixty  converts,  and 
two  hundred  and  sixty-five  dollars  given  to  the 
College.  Last  night,  a  week  ago,  our  services  com- 
menced at  Concord,  and  closed  yesterday  at  noon. 
At  the  inquiry  meeting  yesterday  morning,  there 
were  nearly  two  hundred  present;  of  whom,  perhaps 
as  many  as  eighty  were  occupying  the  seats  assigned 
to  young  converts!  and  remember,  in  all  these  cases, 
chiefly  men !  Indeed,  nearly  all  the  prominent  men 
in  Concord  are  now  professedly  on  the  Lord's  side. 
As  formerly  in  South  Carolina,  so  now,  in  the  old 
North  State,  I  am  almost  'smothered  with  roses;' 
and  how  thankful  should  I  be,  that  my  health  con- 
tinues strong,  and  my  voice  clear!  Succeeding  so 
well  in  this  region  of  country,  and  having  invitations 
upon  invitations,  I  have  concluded  to  remain  awhile 
longer.  For  some  Rye  or  six  weeks  past,  I  have  had 
immense  congregations;  every  Sabbath,  in  particu- 
lar, from  two  to  three  thousand. 
41 


482  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

"  It  is  really  trying  to  my  domestic  feelings  to  be 
so  long  absent  from  my  family;  but  I  am,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  doing  so  good  a  work — this  reconciles 
me.  Besides,  home  will  be  so  much  the  sweeter 
when  I  get  there.  Love  to  all. 
"Your  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  his  wife.) 

'•Steel  Creek  Church,  August^  31s.',  1853. 

"My  beloved  Wife — Eeally,  I  am  tired  of  talking 
so  much  of  myself,  my  preaching,  and  my  success; 
but  you  will  excuse  me  this  once  more,  especially  as, 
the  other  day,  there  was  some  probability  that  my 
pen  was  laid  aside  for  ever.  Whilst  I  was  speaking 
in  the  inquiry  meeting,  I  was  suddenly  taken  with  a 
violent  chill.  A  carriage  was  immediately  brought 
to  the  door,  and  I  was  taken  to  the  house  of  a  kind 
friend.  Colonel  Greer,  where  I  now  am.  On  reach- 
ing his  hospitable  dwelling,  I  went  to  bed,  and  did 
not  leave  it  for  three  days.  The  first  day  the  fever 
which  followed  the  chill  was  very  high.  The  next 
morning  I  had  another  chill,  followed  by  fever,  but 
not  so  great  as  the  day  before;  yet  the  doctor  has 
since  told  me  that  there  were  some  indications  of 
congestion.  For  a  time  I  was  exceedingly  weak — 
could  scarcely  walk  across  the  room;  and,  without 
alarm,  thought  it  likely  that  some  kind  friend  here 
would  write  you  a  letter  beginning  thus,  'Dear 
Madam — Your  husband  has  fallen  asleep  in  Jesus;' 
and  I  pictured  to  my  mind  the  scone  which  would 
then  take  place;  and  in  the  visions  of  my  mind  I 
beheld  my  daughter  amongst  the  chief  mourners. 


RET.  DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  483 

"  But  enough  of  this  fancy  affair.  God  be  thanked, 
on  the  third  morning  I  missed  my  chill,  and  leaving 
my  bed,  I  went  to  church  on  somewhat  tottering 
limbs,  and  with  somewhat  salivated  mouth,  and  with 
four  red  prints  of  mustard  plasters  upon  my  wrists 
and  ancles.  I  preached  what  was  equivalent  to  some 
two  sermons  or  more.  This  morning  I  am  getting 
pretty  strong  and  fresh  again,  and  hope  to  be  able  to 
do  full  service  this  day.  But  the  doctors  say  I  must 
not  preach  any  more  for  some  week  or  ten  days. 
Accordingly,  I  have  already  countermanded  the  other 
appointments  made,  and  expect  to  leave  for  the 
North  in  a  few  days.  My  last  meeting  was  held  at 
Providence  church.  It  closed  on  last  Thursday.  It 
was  greatly  blessed.  The  pastor  tells  me  that  the 
number  of  converts  is  one  hundred  and  three,  and 
these,  as  usual,  chiefly  men.  The  contributions 
to  the  College  amounted  to  about  three  hundred 
dollars. 

"  As  the  doctors  have  laid  their  commands  upon 
me  to  stop  preaching,  and  the  providence  of  God 
also  seems  indeed  to  speak  to  me  as  Christ  once  did 
to  his  disciples.  Turn  aside  and  rest  awhile,  I  may 
return  home  before  the  meeting  of  Synod.  I  shall, 
however,  be  better  able  to  judge  after  reaching  New 
York,  from  which  place  I  purpose  to  write  again. 
But  I  hear  the  sound  of  carriage  wheels  moving 
onward  to  the  church,  so  I  must  abruptly  close,  or 
my  letter  will  not  be  in  time  for  the  mail. 

"  Immense  congregations  attend  upon  my  preach- 
ing— every  Sabbath  perhaps  three  thousand.  People 
come  from  a  great  distance,  and  I  am  told  there  has 


484  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

not  been  such  a  glorious  revival  in  North  Carolina 
for  the  last  fifty  years.     To  God  be  all  the  glory! 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  his  daughter.) 

"Steel  Creek  Church,  September  \st,  1853. 

"My  beloyed  Daughter — Yesterday,  with  some 
intermissions,  I  was  preaching,  as  usual,  from  ten  to 
four  o'clock.  At  the  close  we  had  quite  a  scene.  I 
had  pronounced  my  farewell  benediction,  when  a 
gentleman  of  the  first  standing  in  this  community 
came  up  to  the  stand,  and  lifting  up  his  voice,  wept 
aloud.  Under  the  most  pungent  conviction,  he  called 
upon  God  to  have  mercy  on  his  soul ;  and  then  said 
to  me:  'Mr.  B.,  you  have  made  me  feel  as  nobody 
ever  made  me  feel  before.  Cannot  you  preach  here 
one  day  merer  I  consented,  and  accordingly  made 
the  appointment.  But  this  day  I  leave,  not  for  New 
York,  as  I  gave  your  mother  to  understand,  but  for 
Statesville.  There  are  some  very  remarkable  pro- 
vidences about  this  matter,  which  I  cannot  now 
explain.  Sufiice  it  to  say,  a  gentleman  had  come 
for  me  fifty  miles,  bringing  a  letter  of  invitation  so 
pressing,  and  of  such  a  peculiar  nature,  that  I  could 
not  resist.  I  believe  this  thing  proceedeth  from  the 
Lord;  and  I  now  expect  to  continue  preaching  in 
this  State  about  three  weeks  longer,  and  then  for  the 
North.  Let  your  next  letter  be  addressed  to  me  at 
New  York;  but  be  sure  to  write  by  return  mail. 

"It  is  nearly  time  to  start  for  church,  so,  affec- 
tionately yours, 

Daniel  Baker. 

"P.  S.   The  fame  of  our  meetings  has  gone  abroad, 


REV.    DANIEL    BAKER,    D.  D.  485 

and  hence,  wherever  I  go,  I  have  immense  congre- 
gations; and  many  persons  are  curious  to  see  the 
man  that  can  preach  so  much." 

(to  his  wife.) 

"MoRGANTOX,  Sept.  20th,  1853. 

"My  DEAR  Eliza — I  am  not  in  a  writing  trim; 
but  as  I  am  just  on  the  wing  for  New  York,  I  must 
drop  you  a  Hne.  Our  last  meeting  was  at  States- 
ville,  and  hke  the  rest,  it  was  crowned  with  a  rich 
blessing,  and  proved  to  be  a  glorious  meeting.  Sixty- 
six  converts,  and,  as  usual,  more  men  than  women. 
In  regard  to  the  place  where  I  now  am — it  is  small, 
not  much  material,  but  in  many  respects  important; 
and  the  little  church  here  greatly  needed  to  be 
strengthened.  The  meeting  has  been  interesting 
thus  far,  and  some  prominent  persons  brought  in. 
*  *  *  I  am  not  sick,  but  weak;  and  when  not 
preaching,  I  am  almost  all  the  time  lying  down.  I 
am  pressed  to  go  to  many  places,  but  can  undertake 
no  other  protracted  meeting,  at  least  this  fall. 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  his  son.) 

"Wilmington,  N.C,  Sept.  21th,  1853. 

"My  dear  Son — Thus  far  I  am  on  my  way  to  the 
North.  The  boat  from.  Charleston  was  too  late  for 
the  car,  so  I  am  to  tarry  here  until  to-morrow  morn- 
ing; but  I  do  not  much  regret  it,  for  I  need  one 
day's  rest  very  much;  and  to  secure  it,  I  have  done 
what  I  could  to  keep  my  friends  in  Wilmington  from 
knowing  that  I  am  here.  Yes,  I  do  need  rest,  for  I 
have  been  preaching  a  great  deal  of  late;  moreover, 
41* 


486  LIFE   AND    LABOURS   OF    THE 

I  have  been  sick — three  days  confined  to  my  bed — 
but  I  am  doing  pretty  well  at  this  time,  though  still 
somewhat  weak.  I  was  taken  with  the  chills  about 
three  weeks  since,  and  the  doctor  kept  me  in  my 
chamber  three  days;  but  on  the  fourth  morning, 
understanding  that  there  was  a  great  congregation 
assembled,  and  many  having  come  from  a  distance,  I 
ventured  out,  and  being  unable  to  stand,  I  preached 
sitting,  to  some  eight  hundred  persons,  in  the  grove. 
This  meeting,  as  well  as  others,  was  crowned  with  a 
rich  blessing.  In  the  eleven  protracted  meetings 
which  I  have  attended  in  North  Carolina  recently, 
something  more  than  six  hundred  persons  have  been 
hopefully  converted;  of  whom  nearly  three-fourths 
are  males,  from  fourteen  to  seventy  years  of  age.  In 
some  of  these  meetings,  an  unusually  large  number 
are  heads  of  families;  and  I  am  happy  to  learn  that 
the  blessed  work  is  going  on,  converts  continuing  to 
drop  in  after  the  special  services  were  closed.  '  Not 
unto  us,  not  unto  us,  but  mito  thy  name,  O,  Lord, 
be  all  the  praise !' 

''I  could  mention  some  very  interesting  incidents 
about  the  conversion  of  a  lovely  bride,  and  a  young 
lady,  whose  mother  did  not  wish  her  to  go  to  a  Pres- 
byterian church ;  and  about  a  man,  of  whose  conver- 
sion no  one  ever  dreamed;  and  of  another,  who  had 
killed  a  man ;  and  of  another,  who  had  been  brought 
in  emphatically  at  the  eleventh  hour ;  and  of  another, 
who  was  worth  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  dollars ;  and 
of  six  youths,  who  were  the  sons  of  preachers  and 
ruling  elders.  And  I  could  tell  you  about  the  early 
and  triumphant  death  of  one  of  the  converts,  which 
served  to  make  a  powerful  impression  upon  many. 


KEY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  487 

But  these  things  cannot  be  very  well  spread  upon 
paper;  it  would  take  up  too  much  time.  I  can 
better  talk  the  matter  over  when  I  see  you  face  to 
face,  if  Providence  permit,  at  Galveston,  in  Novem- 
ber next. 

"  With  regard  to  the  Presidency  of  the  College, 
I  have  not  accepted,  and  do  not  intend  to  accept, 
until  I  can  know  what  duties  will  be  required  of 
me.  My  success  as  agent  has  continued  to  be  far 
beyond  my  most  sanguine  expectations.  I  have  sent 
home,  or  caused  to  be  sent,  more  than  four  thousand 
four  hundred  dollars  since  leaving  Huntsville  the 
last  time;  and  I  have  on  hand  more  than  fifteen 
hundred  dollars!  Surely  the  Lord  has  been  very 
good  to  me! 

"  Must  I  not  soon  go  the  way  of  all  the  earth  1  I 
have  had  delightful  views  of  Christ.  During  this 
whole  tour  I  have  preached  him  incessantly,  and 
with  positive  love  kindling  and  glowing  in  my  heart; 
frequently  with  tears  streaming  down  my  cheeks !  I 
think  this  has  been  one  secret  of  the  success:  'Him 
that  honoureth  me  will  I  honour;  but  he  that  des- 
piseth  me  shall  be  lightly  esteemed.'  Remember, 
my  son,  this  saying  of  your  father,  that  the  sermon 
that  does  not  distinctly  present  Christ  in  the  beauty 
and  glory  of  his  mediatorial  character,  is  no  better 
than  a  cloud  without  water,  a  casket  without  a  jewel, 
a  shadow  without  the  substance,  or  the  body  without 
the  soul.  Think  of  what  Paul  says,  '  God  forbid 
that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ' — and  again,  '  Christ  is  all  and  in  all.' 
Think  of  it  in  your  pulpit  and  in  your  study;  when 
you  lie  down  and  when  you  rise  up;  when  you  go 


488  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF    THE 

out  and  when  you  come  in.     Rest  assured  that  there 
is  no  theme  that  has  more  power  to  melt  the  heart 
and  subdue  the  soul.     Vale  et  vive. 
"  Affectionately,  your  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  his  daughter.) 

<'New  York,  October  eih,  1853. 

"  My  dear  Child— Last  night  I  visited  the  Crystal 
Palace.  Brilliantly  illuminated  with  perhaps  some 
twenty  thousand  hghts,  it  presented  a  truly  magnifi- 
cent scene.  After  walking  over  a  large  portion  of 
this  immense  and  beautiful  building,  gazing  with 
admiration  upon  the  rare,  rich,  and  endlessly  diversi- 
fied creations  of  art,  almost  ready  to  drop  with 
fatigue,  I  sat  down  upon  a  seat  in  the  gallery,  or 
upper  promenading  place,  from  which  point  I  had  a 
commanding  and  beautiful  view  of  the  interior  of 
the  Palace,  and  the  vast  multitudes  of  ladies  and 
gentlemen  who  were  moving  below  and  around  me 
in  every  direction.  These  human  forms  winding 
their  way  amid  statues  and  paintings,  and  silver  and 
porcelain  vessels,  and  rich  tapestry,  and  ten  thousand 
splendid  things  which  I  cannot  name,  presented  a 
scene  worthy  of  the  pencil  of  the  best  artist.  Not 
only  was  the  eye  feasted,  but  the  ear  also,  for  there 
was  a  band  of  music,  which  at  intervals  entertained 
the  company  with  lively  airs,  the  effect  of  which  was 
peculiarly  fine  in  this  vast  illuminated  palace.  But, 
my  daughter,  splendid  and  grand  as  this  whole  affair 
certainly  is,  in  heaven  we  shall  have  what  will  throw 
all  completely  and  for  ever  in  the  shade !  The  Crys- 
tal Palace,  with  all  its  gorgeous  things,  is  the  work 


EEV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  489 

of  man — ^poor,  dying  man — but  of  the  heavenly 
palace,  God  himself  is  the  great  and  glorious  Archi- 
tect! 

"  Your  ever  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

He  writes  on  his  return  home,  to  a  student  in  the 
Seminary  at  Columbia,  now  the  Rev.  J.  McDowell, 
of  Sumter,  South  Carolina : 

"HuNTSViLLE,  February  }4:th,  1854. 

"My  dear  young  Brother — I  rejoice  greatly  that 
you  have  seen  your  way  clear  to  devote  yourself  to 
the  service  of  God  in  the  gospel  ministry.  May 
God  bless  you,  grant  you  the  joys  of  his  salvation, 
and  make  you  a  burning  and  a  shining  light  in  your 
day  and  generation.  As  for  myself,  I  may  say,  with 
one  of  old,  '  It  is  toward  evening,  and  the  day  is  far 
spent.'  But  as  my  sun  is  setting,  it  is  cheering  to 
see  other  suns  rising.  How  pleasant  to  think,  that 
when  the  present  generation  of  ministers  shall  have 
passed  away,  another  generation  will  be  raised  up  to 
take  their  place ;  and  then,  how  happy,  how  glorious 
will  the  final  meeting  be !  The  scenes  presented  in 
South  Carolina  some  eighteen  months  ago  were 
pleasant,  but  scenes  still  more  wonderful,  thank  God, 
were  beheld  during  the  last  summer  in  the  'Old 
North  State.'  God  was  pleased  then  and  there  to 
visit  his  churches  in  a  remarkable  manner.  Hopeful 
converts  were  multiplied,  may  I  not  say,  literally,  as 
the  morning  dew.  More  than  six  hundred  precious 
souls  were,  in  a  short  time,  made  obedient  to  the 
faith,  among  whom  were  numbered,  I  suppose,  at 


490  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

least  three  hundred  young  men!  What  a  precious 
harvest!  Who  can  tell  how  many  may  hnitate 
your  example,  may  jom  the  army  of  the  living  God 
as  soldiers  of  the  cross  and  heralds  of  salvation! — 
and  the  final  and  blessed  results  who  can  tell!  I 
should  not  be  surprised  if,  before  long,  you  shall 
have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  some  entering  your 
seminary,  for,  before  I  left  North  Carolina,  I  heard 
of  several  young  men  of  great  promise  who  were 
seriously  turning  their  attention  to  the  sacred  office. 
Well,  let  them  come!  I  suppose  you  will  receive 
them  with  open  arms,  and  cordially  greet  them  wel- 
come! Let  the  number  be  multiplied!  There  is 
need,  for  '  the  harvest  is  great,  and  the  labourers  are 
few.'  May  the  Lord  of  the  vineyard  send  forth 
more  labourers  into  the  harvest.  What  an  honour 
to  be  an  ambassador  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  what  high 
rewards  and  immortal  honours  in  a  future  world 
await  those  who  shall  labour  faithfully  in  their  Mas- 
ter's service!  What  say  the  Scriptures'?  'They 
that  be  wise,  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the 
firmanent,  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness, 
as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever.'  My  young  brother, 
give  yourself  wholly  to  the  work  before  you.  Take 
a  pleasure  in  your  new  calling.  Let  your  standard 
be  high,  not  only  in  relation  to  mental  improvement, 
but  much  more  to  spiritual  attainments.  For  devo- 
tional exercises  read  '  Baxter's  Saint's  Rest,'  '  Owen 
on  Heavenly-mindedness,'  and  '  Smith's  Lectures  on 
the  Sacred  Office.'  These  books  were  greatly  blessed 
to  me.  But,  above  all,  the  precious  Bible;  let  that 
be  indeed  your  Vade  Mecum^  your  companion  and 
counsellor  by  day  and  by  night.     But  I  must  close. 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  491 

"  God  seems  to  be  indeed  smiling  upon  our  Col- 
lege, and  we  indulge  the  pleasing  hope  that  this 
institution,  founded  in  faith  and  prayer,  will  prove 
a  rich  blessing  long  after  the  founders  thereof  shall 
be  numbered  with  the  sheeted  dead.  Please  present 
my  best  respects  to  the  venerated  Professors  of  your 
Seminary,  and  my  kindest  regards  to  your  associates 
who  may  not  have  forgotten  your  old  friend, 

Daniel  Baker." 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

FIFTH  AND    SIXTH    TOURS   ABROAD,  AND   LABOURS   IN    TEXAS  AS 
AGENT   OF  AUSTIN   COLLEGE. 

" Hunts viLLE,  ilfarcA  I'Slh,  1854. 

"My  dear  Son — With  regard  to  our  Education 
Convention,  it  seems  to  have  excited  more  general 
and  lively  interest  than  I  ever  dreamed  of  The 
Attorney-General  says  he  will  certainly  be  present; 
and  by  a  letter  recently  received  from  Houston,  I 
learn  that  they  have  appointed  fifteen  delegates,  and 
these  embracing  some  of  the  oldest  and  most  respect- 
able citizens  of  the  place.  May  God's  blessing  be 
upon  the  Convention ;  for  without  that,  nothing  will 
or  can  prosper." 

In  1853,  while  Dr.  Baker  was  on  a  visit  to  Austin, 
it  was  determined  by  a  number  of  gentlemen  there 
at  that  time,  to  call  an  Education  Convention,  to 
meet  at  that  place  during  the  ensuing  session  of  the 
Legislature,  consisting  of  friends  of  education  from 


492  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

all  parts  of  the  State.  It  assembled  at  the  time 
appointed,  and  a  second  convention  was  held  in 
Huntsville  the  next  year^  after.  It  is  to  this  that 
allusion  is  made  in  the  letter.  These  conventions 
did  much  to  increase  and  enlighten  public  sentiment 
in  regard  to  education. 

In  this  connection,  while  its  object  was  a  general 
one,  it  need  hardly  be  said  that  Dr.  Baker,  to  use  a 
phrase  of  his  own,  "left  no  stone  unturned"  to  ad- 
vance the  interests  of  the  College  of  which  he  was 
agent.  Never  did  he  let  any  opportunity  of  advanc- 
ing its  interests  remain  an  instant  neglected.  On 
one  occasion,  being  in  the  lobby  of  the  Legislature 
with  the  writer,  the  latter  pointed  out  to  him,  near 
at  hand,  the  President  of  a  grand  railway  enterprise. 
Dr.  Baker  immediately  sought  and  obtained  an  intro- 
duction to  him,  and  began  to  call  his  attention  to 
the  cause  of  the  College.  "  Say  no  more,  sir,  say  no 
more,"  said  the  financier,  "the  company  have  already 
determined  to  donate  one  hundred  thousand  dollars 
in  our  stock  to  your  institution."  Somewhat  aston- 
ished at  the  promptness,  as  well  as  magnitude  of  the 
donation,  the  Dr.  asked  if  he  would  reduce  his  pro- 
mise to  writing.  "Most  certainly,  sir,"  replied  the 
railway  king ;  and  in  a  few  moments  Dr.  Baker  was 
in  possession  of  a  written  document  to  that  effect. 
"  I  do  not  think  it  will  ever  amount  to  any  thing,"  he 
said  to  the  writer,  as  they  descended  the  steps  of  the 
capitol;  "but  it  may;  at  least,  it  cost  nothing  to  get 
it."  It  need  not  be  added  that  the  document  is  now 
valuable  only  as  bearing  the  autograph  of  a  very 
remarkable  man.  There  were  one  or  two  other 
similar  cases. 


EEV.    DAXIi: L   BAKER,    D.  D.  493 

From  the  beginning  of  the  College  entei-prise  up 
to  the  hour  of  his  death,  Dr.  Baker  cherished  the 
hope  of  obtaining  aid  for  the  College  from  the  State, 
by  some  plan  just  and  equitable  toward  all  other 
bona  fide  institutions  in  Texas.  He  became  ashamed, 
as  he  often  remarked,  of  seeking  aid  for  the  institu- 
tion abroad,  while  so  little  was  done  for  it  in  Texas 
itself;  a  State  so  rich,  too,  in  every  sense  of  the 
word.  Hence,  session  after  session  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, he  would  visit  Austin,  armed  with  memorials. 
All  that  mortal  man  could  honourably  do,  he  did,  in 
some  form  or  other,  to  obtain  this  object.  He  was 
treated  with  great  courtesy  by  the  members  in  pri- 
vate, was  invited  to  the  floor  of  the  Senate,  was 
allowed  the  satisfaction  of  hearing  his  memorial  read 
aloud  out  of  its  order  on  one  or  two  occasions — even 
had  the  unexpected  pleasure  of  seeing  himself  and 
his  cause  recommended  to  the  Legislature  in  a  mes- 
sage of  the  Governor — but  all  in  vain.  Each  legis- 
lative session  for  years  saw  this  great  hope  of  his 
heart  wax  and  wane. 

The  grounds  of  opposition  to  granting  aid  to  a 
denominational  institution  were  manifold.  A  few 
opposed  the  granting  of  State  aid  to  such  an  institu- 
tion out  of  sheer  hatred  to  religion  in  every  form; 
but  these  were  few,  very  few.  No  State  has  fewer 
such  legislators  than  Texas.  Others  were  honestly 
opposed  to  granting  aid  to  one  College,  lest  the  same 
should  be  demanded  for  a  hundred  other  institu- 
tions in  the  State.  Others  acted  from  a  vague  hor- 
ror of  any  thing  like  a  union  in  the  matter  between 
Church  and  State.  Others  opposed  from  terror  of 
"sectarianism,"  forgetful  that  a  College,  to  be  suc- 
42 


494  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

cessfully  managed,  has  to  be  in  the  hands  of  some 
body  of  men,  and  that,  as  an  almost  invariable  rule, 
a  denomination  of  Christians  is  the  only  body  suffi- 
ciently united,  interested,  and  energetic  on  principle, 
to  conduct  an  institution  with  vigour  and  success; 
forgetful,  too,  that  the  field  is  open  to  all  denomina- 
tions alike — whose  very  competition  is  a  guaranty  of 
the  dangerous  pre-eminence  of  none,  and  the  high 
order  of  all  the  Colleges  under  their  care.  But  the 
mass  conceived  the  duty  of  the  State  to  education  as 
performed,  in  the  amount — over  a  million  in  lands 
and  money — set  apart  by  the  State  for  common 
schools  and  a  State  University. 

Though  cherishing  hope  of  aid  for  the  College 
from  the  vast  coffers  of  the  commonwealth,  and  doing 
all  that  could  be  done  to  obtain  this,  yet  never  for  a 
moment  did  he  relax  his  exertions  in  other  direc- 
tions. About  the  beginning  of  1854,  it  was  deter- 
mined to  attempt  obtaining  twenty  thousand  dollars 
as  an  endowment  for  a  "Baker  Professorship  of 
Mathematics."  Henceforth  Dr.  Baker  aimed  steadily 
at  this ;  and  before  his  death  it  was  accomplished,  as 
will  hereafter  appear. 

In  April,  1854,  he  left  Huntsville  upon  his  fifth 
tour  in  behalf  of  the  College. 

"Rome,  Georgia,  June  llh,  1854. 

"My  dear  good  Wife — I  am  preaching  here  every 
day,  twice,  and  blessed  be  God,  my  labours  are  still 
being  crowned  with  a  blessing.  Our  meetings  are 
crowded.  I  was  told  that  Rome  was  a  hard  place, 
and  there  never  was  a  revival  here ;  but,  blessed  be 
God,  the  showers  of  heavenly  grace  are  now  descend- 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  495 

ing.  At  Talladega  there  were  about  twenty  precious 
souls  hopefully  converted.  I  trust  we  shall  have 
more  than  that  in  Kome;  and  to  God  shall  be  all 
the  praise.  I  have  just  returned  from  the  church. 
We  had,  as  I  am  told,  a  better  attendance  than 
usual,  even  on  the  Sabbath.  The  interest  is  evi- 
dently increasing.  Besides  my  usual  message,  I  had 
one  from  a  young  lady,  who,  within  some  two  hun- 
dred yards,  was  very  near  her  end.  She  said  to  me, 
'Tell  them  I  am  dying,  or  I  may  be  dead;  but  tell 
them  to  get  religion,  to  come  to  Christ,  and  not  to 
delay.'  And  then  she  exclaimed,  'O,  sweet  Jesus, 
sweet  Jesus!  Come,  Jesus,  come!'  I  assure  you, 
that  our  meeting  this  morning  was  one  of  no  com- 
mon interest.  Several  will  date  this  day  as  their 
starting-point  in  the  race  for  glory,  the  commence- 
ment of  a  life  which  shall  never  end. 
"Yours,  as  ever, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  the  same.) 

"Dalton,  Georgia,  Jtme  22c/,  1854. 

"  My  dear  Eliza — I  have  nothing  special  to  say, 
but  thought  I  would  drop  you  a  line,  to  let  you  know 
I  am  still  alive,  and  preaching  every  day  with  some 
success,  as  usual.  God  be  thanked,  the  meeting  here 
has  proved  one  of  great  interest;  house  crowded,  and 
about  eighteen  persons  cherishing,  as  I  trust,  '  a  good 
hope  through  grace.'  I  have  received  so  many  and 
pressing  invitations  from  churches  in  this  region  of 
country,  that  I  find  it  diiFicult  to  reach  Carolina. 
May  the  Lord  lead  me,  as  a  father  leads  a  child. 

"  The  people  give  cheerfully,  but  not  in  large  sums 


496  LIFE  AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

Well,  every  little  helps.  But  I  think  a  lawyer,  for 
the  same  amount  of  speaking,  would  get  ten  times 
as  much  as  I  do.  But  money  collected  is  not  the 
only  fruit  of  my  speaking.  Some  sixty  persons,  as  I 
hope,  have,  by  my  humble  instrumentality,  been 
lately  put  in  possession  of  the  one  pearl  of  great 
price.  I  am  happy  in  my  work;  but,  I  confess,  I 
get  now  and  then  a  little  homesick,  and  think  that 
this  must  be  my  last  tour. 

"Last  Sunday  night  I  had,  while  preaching,  one 
of  my  '  turns,'  and  came  near  falling  in  the  pulpit ; 
but  it  was  owing,  I  suspect  to  the  warmth  of  the 
evening,  and  the  excessive  crowd.  Do  not  be 
uneasy;  I  am  told  that  there  are  no  symptoms  of 
apoplexy,  nothing  but  a  common  vertigo.  Heaven 
bless  you,  one  and  all! 

"  From  the  man  of  silvery  locks. 

Your  husband, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  a  son.) 

"Cartersville,  Georgia,  July  3(/,  1854. 

"I  never  did  like  stiff,  starched,  essayic  letters. 
There  is  a  power  in  association ;  and  the  mention,  in 
your  letters,  of  all  little  home  matters,  gives  scope 
and  liveliness  to  this  exercise  of  the  power  of  asso- 
ciation; serves  to  place  me  in  my  own  domicil,  and 
surround  me  with  all  the  nameless  charms  of  domes- 
tic life.  Why,  the  mention  of  the  quantity  of  butter 
made,  the  quality  of  the  peaches,  and  the  number 
and  size  of  the  watermelons,  would  not  be  wanting 
in  interest.  'Chit-chat,  chit-chat,'  that  is  what  I 
like  in  home  letters.     This  is  a  kind  of  substitute  for 


RET.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  497 

a  home  visit,  and  gives  an  innocent  and  agreeable 
diversion  to  my  thoughts,  amid  the  graver  scenes  by 
which  I  am  surrounded. 

"  AVhile  I  think  of  it,  I  will  mention  something 
new,  which  I  saw  the  other  day — a  cripple  in  a  kind 
of  chair,  running,  I  think,  on  three  wheels.  Behind 
was  a  corpulent  goat,  '  fat  as  a  butter-ball,'  with  his 
head  pushing  at  the  back  of  the  chair.  The  goat 
seemed  to  be  well  trained,  and  performed  his  part  to 
perfect  admiration,  pushing,  and  refraining  to  push, 
as  his  master  gave  command.  I  mean,  when  his 
master  was  sober;  but  sometimes  he  was  not  sober, 
and  the  goat,  prompted  by  feelings  of  disgust,  would 
upset  the  whole  concern,  and  shell  his  master  out. 
Well  done,  goat !  Daniel  Baker." 

"Rome,  Georgia,  August  2d,  1854, 

"My  only  Wife — For  two  weeks  I  have  had 
fever  and  ague;  nevertheless,  within  the  last  three 
weeks  we  have  had  three  blessed  protracted  meet- 
ings, a  week  each.  Precious  meetings  indeed  they 
were.  Yesterday  more  than  forty  attended  our 
inquiry  meeting.  At  Sardis  I  came  pretty  near 
being  killed — thrown  from  a  buggy  with  great  vio- 
lence. God  be  thanked  for  all  his  mercies ! 
"In  great  haste,  yours,  as  ever, 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  a  daughter.) 

"Anderson  Court  House,  August  19//*,  1854, 

"Our  meeting  at  Good  Hope  lasted  some  five  or 
six  days.     As  usual,  I  did  all  the  preaching.     Very 
delightful   the   meeting    proved.      On   inviting   the 
42* 


498  LIFE  AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

young  converts  and  anxious  to  go  to  another  place, 
there  was  quite  a  rush — some  forty  or  more;  and, 
strange  to  tell,  nearly  all  men.  Our  meeting  here  is 
now  in  progress,  and  our  prospects  for  the  time  as 
encouraging  as  in  any  other  place.  O  how  wonderful 
that  God  should  bless  my  labours  so!  You  cannot 
imagine  how  letters  of  invitation  are  showered  upon 
me.  One  person  told  me  he  had  come  one  hundred 
and  sixty  miles  to  hear  me;  and  so  many  ministers 
too  from  churches  all  around.  On  my  arrival,  the 
other  day,  there  were  no  less  than  some  five  ministers 
who  came  to  the  car  to  bid  me  welcome,  and  to  invite 
me  to  visit  their  churches.  I  have  heard  of  some 
four  or  five  ministers  who  had  been  brought  in  under 
my  preaching,  of  whom  I  knew  nothing  until  within 
a  few  weeks  past. 

"I  preach  a  great  deal;  my  speaking,  I  suppose, 
will  average  from  six  to  seven  hours  every  day. 
When  I  am  not  in  the  pulpit  I  am  upon  the  floor ; 
and  when  I  am  not  in  the  church  with  the  great  con- 
gregation, I  am  in  the  lecture-room  with  inquirers. 
Sometimes  1  feel  a  little  jaded,  but  God  seems  to 
renew  my  strength  day  by  day.  I  am  so  much  occu- 
pied, and  so  frequently  interrupted,  that  I  have  to 
write  by  snatches — so  please  tear  up  my  letters,  or 
throw  them  in  the  fire,  when  read.  Again  the 
church  bell  is  ringing,  and  I  must  abruptly  close. 
"Your  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

"Greenville  Church,  South  Carolina,  September  Ath^  1854. 

"My  dear  Son — Since  coming  into  this  State,  I 
have  attended  three  protracted  meetings,  of  about  a 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  499 

week  each.  God  be  thanked,  all  have  been  blessed; 
Christians  greatly  revived,  and  some  eighty  or  ninety 
souls  hopefully  converted.  A  large  number  are 
young  men.  Yesterday  I  preached  to  an  immense 
congregation;  prospects  highly  encouraging.  Kiss 
Hartman  for  me — my  only  hope  for  posterity.  The 
carriage  is  at  the  door  to  convey  me  to  the  church. 
"Your  affectionate  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

"  P.  S.  Just  returned ;  had  a  delightful  time ;  great 
congregation ;  much  solemnity ;  very  general  feeling ; 
some  twelve  or  more  hopefully  converted.  My  speak- 
ing amounts  to  some  three  or  four  sermons  a  day; 
and  this  for  some  three  or  four  months  past.  Many 
persons  express  their  astonishment.  '  Why,  Mr.  B., 
how  can  you  stand  if? — you  can  break  down  six 
preachers!'  I  confess  it  does  seem  a  little  strange, 
but  so  it  is.  When  I  finish  one  meeting,  I  begin 
another  the  very  next  morning;  sometimes  the  very 
same  evening !  My  Master  sustains  me ;  and,  is  it 
not  written,  '  They  that  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall 
renew  their  strength' '?  I  feel  just  as  strong  and 
lively  now  as  when  I  entered  upon  these  meetings. 
Blessed  be  God !  The  people  are  beginning  to  give 
to  the  College.  At  two  meetings,  two  hundred  dol- 
lars each;  one,  one  hundred  and  eighty  dollars; 
another,  one  hundred  and  thirty  dollars.  I  long  to 
return  to  the  bosom  of  my  family.  Pressing  invita- 
tions are  pouring  upon  me  from  all  quarters ;  more 
than  I  can  possibly  comply  with.  If  I  had  had  such 
scenes  before  me  when  I  was  a  young  man !     But  I 


500  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

may  say  as  the  disciples  said,  '  It  is  toward  evening, 
f  Jid  the  day  is  far  spent.' " 

(to  his  wife.) 

"  Liberty  Spring  Church,  September  3dth,  1854. 

"  My  dear  Eliza — I  wish  to  keep  square  with  the 
whole  world,  and  thus  obey  the  Apostle's  injunction, 
'  Owe  no  man  any  thing,  but  to  love  one  another.' 
In  relation  to  my  ministry  and  my  agency:  I  have 
of  late  been  as  successful  as  in  my  palmiest  days  in 
North  Carolina  last  year.  For  some  time  past  the 
converts  wiU  average  thirty-five  a  week ;  and  then, 
the  converts  are  of  so  interesting  a  class,  chiefly 
young  men  and  young  ladies.  Our  meetings  for  a 
few  weeks  past  have  been  particularly  interesting — 
one  peculiarly  so,  at  a  church  called  Upper  Long 
Cane.  This  was  decidedly  the  very  best  we  have 
yet  had.  There  were  jarrings  before,  but  during  the 
meeting  the  jarrings  ceased,  and  there  was  most 
delightful  harmonious  feeling,  to  the  great  joy  of 
the  elders.  O  how  it  gladdened  their  hearts  to  see 
harmony  restored,  and  some  fifty  converts  rejoicing 
around  them. 

"  The  contributions  in  this  church  to  the  College 
for  one  week's  labour  amounted  to  upwards  of  three 
hundred  dollars.  The  last  meeting  was  at  New- 
berry, where  my  labours  had  been  greatly  blessed 
some  twenty-two  years  ago.  I  had  so  many  invita- 
tions, I  thought  I  could  not  hold  a  meeting  there 
this  time;  but  passing  through,  I  preached  two  or 
three  sermons;  upon  leaving,  I  received  a  written 
invitation,  signed  by  forty- three  young  men,  urging 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  501 

me  not  to  pass  them  by.  I  concluded  to  accept  their 
invitation.  The  meeting  lasted  one  week,  and  closed 
last  Thursday  night.  It  was  indeed  a  most  delightful 
meeting — so  many  of  the  petitioners  were  brought 
in.  The  last  day,  when  I  proposed  that  all  the 
young  converts  and  inquirers  should  meet  me  in 
the  lecture-room,  some  fifty  or  more  hurried  to  the 
place.  As  Chancellor  I.  was  an  elder,  he  was  invited 
to  go  in  also.  When  he  beheld  the  scene,  his  heart 
was  melted.  He  attempted  once  to  speak,  and  did 
say  some  touching  things ;  but  his  feelings  overcame 
him,  and  he  wept  aloud.  One  of  his  own  sons  was 
present,  in  the  character  of  a  young  convert.  He 
gave  me  one  hundred  dollars  for  Austin  College. 
Was  not  this  generous'?  but  it  was  only  after  the 
example  of  Judge  W.,  of  Anderson,  who  had  three 
sons  brought  in,  and  so,  as  a  thank-offering,  gave 
one  hundred  dollars.  My  dear  E.,  is  it  not  wonder- 
ful that  the  Lord  should  so  greatly  bless  your  old 
husband,  whose  scanty  locks  are  becoming  more  and 
more  silvered  with  age  ? 

"  To  tell  the  truth,  if  encomiums  give  me  pleasure, 
they  give  me  pain  also;  for  when  I  go  to  a  new 
place,  how  can  I  meet  expectations  ]  One  thing  that 
comforts  me  is,  I  make  no  parade.  I  speak  in  a 
simple,  conversational  way,  and  my  aim  is,  not  to 
excite  admiration,  but  to  win  souls  to  Christ. 

''May  the  Lord  bless  the  College,  and  protect  it 
from  all  evil. 

"  Yours,  with  affection, 

Daniel  Baker." 


502  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

From  the  same  place,  three  days  later,  he  writes 
to  a  son: 

"If  you  ask  why  my  preaching  is  so  much 
blessed,  I  say  again,  'Even  so.  Father,  for  so  it 
seemed  good  in  thy  sight.'  But  if  it  will  throw  any 
light  upon  the  subject,  I  will  tell  you  that  my  plan 
is  incessantly  to  preach  Christ  and  him  crucified; 
and  this  I  do  in  an  earnest,  colloquial  manner,  and, 
not  unfrequently,  streaming  tears  attest  the  sincere 
and  tender  feelings  of  my  own  heart,  aiming  at  the 
conversion  of  sinners.  Being  earnest  and  colloquial, 
I  have  the  more  fixed  attention ;  and  to  understand 
the  importance  of  this,  take  a  burning-glass,  and  let 
the  object,  at  the  proper  focal  distance,  remain  in  a 
fixed  position,  and  it  soon  begins  to  smoke.  So  the 
mind,  kept  in  contact  with  divine  truth  pouring 
upon  it,  soon  begins  to  warm  and  kindle  up.  And 
with  regard  to  the  matter  of  feeling,  you  know,  '  Si 
vis  itie  flere^  dolendum  est  primum  ipse  tihi.'  Now, 
preaching  Christ  so  much,  I  keep  upon  my  own 
mind  a  more  distinct  and  lively  impression  of  his 
wonderful  love  and  compassion  for  our  ruined  race ; 
and  hence  I  present  the  matter  with  more  feeling; 
and  hence  the  efibct  upon  the  audience.  God  is  a 
Sovereign,  but  he  generally  works  by  appropriate 
means. 

(to  his  wife.) 

"Greenville,  October  2Sth,  1854. 

"  Our  meetings  are  still  crowned  with  a  blessing — 
every  meeting — every  one!  I  have  attended  about 
twenty  protracted  meetings  since  T  left  home,  and 
have  preached  every  sermon  save  two — three  ser- 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  503 

mons  a  day,  on  an  average,  for  nearly  four  months 
past.  The  number  of  converts  in  all  may  be  about 
five  hundred  and  fifty,  and  so  many  men,  and  some 
cases  so  interesting !  But  the  time  would  fail  to  tell 
one  half  Sometimes  when  I  get  out  of  the  pulpit, 
I  feel  jaded,  and  could  almost  wish  that  a  brother 
would  take  my  place ;  but  when  I  get  into  the  pul- 
pit again,  I  feel  perfectly  fresh.  But  is  not  the 
remarkable  success  God  is  pleased  to  give,  enough 
to  impart  new  life  and  vigour  to  any  man'?  I  have 
now  only  some  three  or  four  more  engagements,  and 
then,  home,  sweet  home !" 

On  the  margin  of  the  sheet  he  writes :  "  My  hands 
are  quite  hard  and  rough.  I  ivill  slap  them  together 
in  the  pulpit,  notwithstanding  the  frequent  remon- 
strances of  my  daughter." 

(to  his  daughter.) 

"Fairview  Church,  iVov.  6M,  1854. 

"You  wish  me  to  vrdie  you  a  long  letter  once  a 
week.  What  an  unreasonable  thing  you  are!  Per- 
haps you  do  not  preach  as  many  sermons  as  I  do. 
Matters  are  going  on  pretty  much  in  the  old  way; 
only  in  almost  every  place  more  persons  have  been 
added  to  the  church  than  were  expected — proving 
that  the  work  is  genuine,  and  going  on.  To  God  be 
all  the  praise!" 

In  a  note  to  a  son  from  the  same  place,  two  days 
later,  he  says:  "In  one  case  a  father  and  mother, 
and  twelve  children  and  grandchildren,  were  brought 
in.     In  this  place,  on  Monday,  fifteen  attended  the 


504  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

inquiry  meeting;  on  Tuesday,  thirty-two;  and  this 
morning,  sixty-five." 

In  the  course  of  all  his  labours  it  is  not  known 
that  any  one  ever  charged  Dr.  Baker,  even  in 
thought,  with  arrogating  any  thing  to  himself  on 
account  of  the  success  God  was  pleased  to  give  him. 
Nothing  could  be  more  clear  to  his  mind  at  all  times, 
than  the  simple  fact,  that  he  was  the  merest  instru- 
ment in  the  hand  of  a  Sovereign,  who  often  uses 
the  humblest  "earthen  vessels"  to  accomplish  his 
noblest  purposes:  and  for  this  express  reason,  that 
"the  excellency  of  the  power  may  be  of  God  and 
not  of  us,"  though  it  is  an  Apostle  who  says  it. 
That  all  his  success  was  of  God  alone,  was  to  him  a 
fact^  and  a  fact  in  which  he  rested  all  his  joy  and 
all  his  confidence  during  his  labours.  Even  so  far 
as  human  means  are  concerned,  no  one  knew  better 
than  he  how  large  a  part  of  his  success  was  owing 
to  the  labours  of  others  before  him.  This  has  been 
already  alluded  to ;  and  in  a  letter  to  the  editor  of  a 
religious  journal,  dated  Willington,  South  Caro- 
lina, November  22d,  1854,  speaking  of  the  brethren 
in  whose  churches  his  labours  were  so  blessed,  he 
says: 

"I  wish  no  credit  to  be  given  to  me  at  the 
expense  of  pastors  whom  I  so  much  respect  and 
love.  They  are  not  only  men  of  talents  and  piety, 
but  efficient  men,  working  men — pastors,  in  my 
opinion,  of  the  right  stamp,  and  whom,  without  an 
exception,  their  people  love  and  delight  to  honour. 
If  the  voice  of  a  stranger  has  wakened  a  new  interest 
in  their  churches,  this  is  no  uncommon  thing;  for 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  505 

well  do  I  recollect  when  I  was  a  pastor  myself,  how 
the  visit  and  preaching  of  another  brother  would,  by 
the  grace  of  God,  exert  a  quickening  influence  upon 
myself  and  the  people  of  my  charge,  when  we  our- 
selves were  in  a  cold  and  slumbering  state.     There 
is  something  in  a  new  voice,  especially,  when,  for 
several  days  in  succession,  the  great  truths  of  Chris- 
tianity are  brought  to  bear  upon  the  minds  of  men 
as  the  rays  of  the  sun  upon  an  object  by  the  concen- 
trating power  of  a  burning-glass.     If  the  meetings 
held  recently  in  several  of  the  Presbyterian  churches 
in  this  region  were  '  remarkably  blessed,'  I  ascribe  it, 
under  God,  in   a   great  measure  to  the   fact,  that 
much   good   seed   had   been   sown   in   ground  pre- 
viously well  prepared;  and  also  to  the  cordial  and 
efficient  co-operation  of  pastor  and  people  with  the 
stranger   from   abroad.     And,    after   all,  the   whole 
must  be  resolved  into  this — '  Even  so.  Father,  for  so 
it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight.'     But  if  my  preaching 
was  crowned  with  a  remarkable  blessing,  I  believe 
one  reason  was  this :  Bearing  in  mind  that  the  '  word 
of  God,'  and   not  the  word   of  man,  is  quick  and 
powerful,  I  was  as  a  man  of  one  book,  and  that  book 
the   Bible;    and  taking  the  hint  from   an  inspired 
Apostle,  I  made  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified,  my 
constant  theme.     This  was    certainly   Paul's   great 
doctrine;    this   was   his   sharpest   sword,  his   chief 
battle-axe ;  and  influenced  by  his  example,  I  seized 
upon  this  heavenly-tempered  weapon,  and  wielded  it 
as  well  as  I  could. 

"And  here,  my  brother,  permit   me,  as  an    old 
soldier  of  the  cross,  to  say,  that  after  long  experience 
and  close  observation,  I  have  come  to  the  settled 
43 


506  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

conclusion,  that  no  doctrine  has  more  power  to  soften 
the  heart  and  subdue  the  soul  than  this.  It  is 
better  than  all  the  flowery  and  fine-spun  theories  in 
the  world.  Indeed,  in  my  opinion,  the  sermon  Avhich 
does  not  present  the  blessed  Saviour,  is  no  better 
than  a  cloud  without  water,  a  shadow  without  the 
substance,  a  casket  without  the  jewel,  a  body  with- 
out the  soul.  Yes,  it  is  Christ,  and  Christ  crucified, 
w^hich  gives  beauty  and  efficiency  to  every  thing; 
and  I  think  it  would  be  well  for  every  minister  to 
remember  these  words,  'Him  that  honoureth  me, 
will  I  honour;  and  he  that  despiseth  me  shall  be 
lightly  esteemed.'  According  to  the  Scriptures,  in 
the  economy  of  redemption,  Christ  is  all  in  all.  He 
is  the  hiding-place  from  the  wind;  and  without  him 
there  is  no  covert  from  the  tempest.  He  is  the 
Saviour  of  the  lost,  and  without  him  there  is  no 
salvation. 

"I  have  been  preaching  Christ  for  nearly  forty 
years,  and  in  the  contemplation  of  him  I  am  more 
and  more  filled  with  wonder,  admiration,  and  joy. 
Perhaps  this  may  have  given  some  new  freshness, 
and  power,  and  unction,  and  success  to  my  preach- 
ing. '  O,  that  all  but  knew  him !'  In  Christ  there 
is  a  beauty  that  is  unspeakable;  there  are  wonders 
which  human  language  cannot  describe.  If  I  may 
say  so,  in  Christ  there  is  an  ocean  of  wonders.  For, 
how  wonderful,  that  he  who  was  so  rich,  for  our  sakes 
became  poor — so  poor  as  to  have  no  place  to  lay  his 
head.  How  wonderful,  that  he  who,  in  heaven,  is 
the  Saviour  of  all,  should  for  our  sakes,  on  earth, 
become  a  man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief! 
How  wonderful,  that  he  who   is  the  final   Judge, 


KEY.   DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  507 

should  himself,  for  our  sakes,  in  the  form  of  a  man, 
stand  condemned  at  Pilate's  bar!  How  wonderful, 
that  he  who  is  the  Lord  of  glory,  should  for  our 
sakes  be  crucified!  How  wonderful,  that  he  who  is 
the  Prince  of  Life,  should  for  our  sakes  be  brought 
under  the  power  of  death !  And  how  wonderful,  that 
he  who  fills  immensity  with  his  presence,  should  for 
our  sakes,  in  the  form  of  a  man,  be  laid  in  Joseph's 
tomb !  This  has  been  the  principal  theme  of  all  my 
sermons,  and  hence  what  some  are  pleased  to  call 
the  'remarkable  success'  which  has  crowned  my 
preaching.     And  to  God  be  all  the  praise !" 

About  this  time  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  place 
from  which  this  last  letter  is  dated — Willington, 
South  Carohna.  A  member  of  the  church,  writing 
to  a  friend  soon  after,  says: 

"  Twenty-tw^o  years  ago.  Dr.  Baker  held  a  meeting 
here.  Many  were  made  to  rejoice  in  their  Saviour 
during  that  meeting,  and  to  this  day  testify  to  the 
goodness  and  mercy  of  God;  but  many  are  fallen 
asleep.  When  it  was  announced  that  the  same 
Daniel  Baker  would  again  be  with  us,  the  news  was 
hailed  with  rejoicing.  Our  prayers,  that  God  would 
direct  him  to  visit  us,  were  answered;  and,  thanks 
to  our  Heavenly  Father,  the  meeting  was  one  of 
most  thrilling  interest.  The  last  day,  there  were 
over  seventy  in  the  inquiry  meeting,  and  about 
fifty  of  them  professed  a  hope  in  Christ;  and  many 
enemies  were  made  friends  by  his  instrumentality. 
'Blessed  are  the  peace-makers.'  It  really  seems  as 
if  the  millennium  has  dawned  upon  us." 


508  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

After  his  return  home  from  this  tour,  he  thus 
writes  to  a  son  in  Austin: 

•'HuNTSViLLE,  January  3J,  1855. 

"  My  dear  Son — After  more  than  eight  months' 
absence,  I  found  myself,  at  last,  in  the  bosom  of  my 
family  on  the  26th  ult.,  in  fine  health  and  spirits. 
Some  three  hundred  young  men,  during  this  last 
tour,  professed  conversion  under  your  father's  preach- 
ing. I  hope  that  many  will  be  found  seeking  the 
sacred  office.  The  revivals  in  Carolina  were  so  ex- 
tensive and  glorious,  that  I  see  in  the  papers  a 
proposition  made  that  the  Presbytery  within  whose 
bounds  they  occurred,  should  appoint  a  special  day 
of  thanksgiving.  Since  I  came  home,  I  received  a 
letter,  stating  that  forty-three  had  been  received  into 
the  church,  when  the  whole  number  supposed  to  be 
converted  had  been  put  down  at  thirty-five.  I  think, 
then,  I  do  not  exaggerate,  when  I  estimate  the  num- 
ber, during  this  last  tour,  'made  obedient  to  the 
faith,'  at  seven  hundred.  What  a  precious  harvest 
this!  It  is  certainly  wonderful;  but  it  is,  'Even  so, 
Father,  for  so  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight.'  To  God 
be  all,  all  the  praise! 

"  My  sheet  is  crowded.     God  bless  you  all! 

Daniel  Baker." 

It  will  interest  the  reader  to  know  the  sentiments 
entertained,  in  regard  to  the  man  and  his  labours, 
by  those  among  whom  he  mingled  during  the  meet- 
ings last  spoken  of 

One  writes  at  this  time: 

"The  llev.  Dr.  Baker  has  just  left  us,  after  a 
series  of  meetings  in  our  churches,  whose  great  and 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  509 

unexpected  results  must  for  ever  remain  a  memorial 
of  the  unfathomable  goodness  of  God.  The  number 
of  those  who  are  serious  and  inquiring  is  upwards  of 
seventy,  while  some  forty  of  them  are  now  rejoicing 
in  hope  of  favour  and  reconciliation.  Never  has  it 
been  our  privilege  before  to  witness  such  a  scene  in 
the  house  of  God — never,  at  least,  one  that  gave  so 
many  unequivocal  evidences  of  a  genuine  work. 
The  congregations  were  most  orderly  and  solemn; 
no  shouting,  not  an  outcry  was  heard  that  could  pos- 
sibly beget  an  artificial  or  mere  sympathetic  excite- 
ment; and  no  effort  chiefly  for  such  a  purpose  was 
once  made.  Nay,  in  proportion  to  the  depth  of  feel- 
ing pervading  the  assembly,  was  the  solemnity  of  its 
silence.  It  sometimes  appeared  as  if  the  Spirit  of 
God  was  actually  brooding  visibly  upon  the  people, 
chastening  and  subduing  their  emotions,  till  almost 
a  breath  was  audible.  The  visit  and  labours  of  Dr. 
Baker  in  our  midst  have  also  been  greatly  blessed  in 
confirming  and  reanimating  the  people  of  God ;  for 
surely  there  is  much  that  is  eminently  contagious  in 
his  warmth  of  love  to  the  Saviour,  gentleness  of 
spirit,  and  comprehensive  charity.  All  have  been 
encouraged  and  strengthened,  and  many  long  at 
variance  have  met  once  more  as  brothers." 

Another  thus  speaks: 

"  This  devoted,  indefatigable,  and  truly  eloquent 
divine,  is  now  conducting  in  our  midst  one  of  those 
deeply  interesting  meetings  for  which  he  is  so  justly 
famous.  We  had  heard  much  of  the  Doctor  even  in 
boyhood,  but  not  till  recently  were  we  favoured  with 
the  rare  pleasure  of  witnessing  ourselves  liis  peculiar 
43* 


510  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

powers  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  The  half  was 
not  told  us ;  he  is  truly  an  '  old  man'  more  than  '  elo- 
quent;' and  his  strength  consists  in  much  that  is 
infinitely  better  than  the  noblest  command  of  lan- 
guage; yet  even  there,  when  fully  warmed  with  his 
great  Master's  work,  few  living  can  surpass  him. 
He  is  eloquent  in  a  faith  and  an  unction  that  seem 
to  know  no  ebb ;  eloquent  in  a  zeal  and  earnestness 
that  beams  in  a  face  whose  benignity  once  looked 
upon  can  never  be  forgotten;  eloquent  in  a  long  life 
of  energy  and  ripe  experience  that  stands  without  a 
parallel  in  the  present  age,  that  is  only  comparable 
to  that  of  Wesley  or  Whitefield,  or  the  Apostles. 
What  a  relief  it  is — or  to  use  one  of  his  own 
favourite  expressions,  'how  delightful'  it  is  to  listen 
to  such  a  man  after  sitting  for  years  under  the  less 
animated  and  genial,  the  less  practical  and  more 
purely  argumentative  sermonizing  generally  preva- 
lent, and  in  many  places  sadly  distorted  from  the 
simplicity  of  the  Saviour,  to  the  stiff,  lofty  intellect- 
uality of  the  modern  heroic  school. 

"Dr.  Baker's  powers  are  therefore  evidently 
founded  in  a  profound  and  discriminating  knowledge 
of  human  nature,  which  leads  him  to  adapt  himself 
easily  in  every  important  particular  to  his  audience. 
Do  men  love  simplicity,  especially  in  matters  of  great 
and  lasting  moment,  such  as  the  salvation  of  the 
souH — he  orders  his  style,  his  manner,  and  practical 
overwhelming  logic,  with  a  plainness  and  simplicity 
that  is  truthfully  eloquent,  while  all  is  dressed  in 
language  whose  purity  and  taste  make  it  classic. 
Do  they  love  zeal  and  earnestness  of  soul  in  one  who 
would  'allure  to  brighter  worlds  and  lead  the  wayT 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  511 

his  sincerity  and  devotion  speak  straight  to  the  heart. 
Do  they  love  gentleness  and  heartfelt  sympathy  in 
him  who  is  commissioned  to  feed  his  Master's  sheep, 
especially  the  lambs  of  the  flock  1  the  kindly  emo- 
tions of  a  heart  running  over  with  love  to  his  fellow 
men  are  manifest  in  every  feature  of  his  face,  in 
every  word  he  utters.  In  the  mysterious  providence 
of  God,  it  is  only  in  long  and  rare  intervals  that  such 
men  are  given  to  the  world,  and  they  always  seem  to 
come  just  in  time  to  re-illustrate  the  forgotten  sim- 
plicity of  truth,  and  its  dignity  as  well;  so  came 
Socrates  in  the  twilight  of  antiquity,  to  refute  and 
expose  the  jargon  of  false  philosophers ;  so  came 
Butler  in  a  later  day,  to  vindicate  the  nature  and 
truthfulness  of  a  nobler  philosophy.  This  is  not  ful- 
some praise,  it  is  too  true  to  be  such;  and  it  gives  us 
unfeigned  pleasure  thus  to  honour  a  man  whom  God 
now  honours  eminently  with  his  spiritual  presence  in 
the  conversion  of  souls,  and  whose  crown  hereafter 
will  sparkle  with  choice  jewels." 

Another  thus  speaks,  looking  back  upon  those 
meetings  from  an  after  period: 

"No  minister  of  our  Church  was  more  beloved  by 
the  brethren  than  this  venerable  servant  of  God. 
No  one  was  more  deserving  of  veneration.  A  few 
years  since,  he  spent  a  few  months  labouring  with  the 
pastors  of  many  of  our  churches — labouring  as  suc- 
cessfully in  edifying  ministers  as  in  converting  souls 
unto  God.  And  who  is  there  that  can  look  back  to 
the  time  of  his  sojourn  among  us  without  a  feeling  of 
regret  that  his  face  will  no  more  be  seen  among  us] 
His  words,  how  much  Like  the  language  of  heaven ! 


512  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

One  might  almost  have  imagined  that  he  was  enter- 
taining an  angel  unawares,  during  the  intervals  of 
pubUc  worship  in  the  house  of  God.  The  most 
thoughtless  could  never  avoid  the  conviction  that 
he  was  listening  to  an  ambassador  for  Christ,  while 
seated  in  the  public  sanctuary;  and  the  rude  hand 
of  time  win  never  efface  the  many  and  salutary 
impressions  which  his  visit  has  left  behind.  That 
was  a  favoured  family  who  had  the  privilege  of  enter- 
taining this  man  of  God  during  these  protracted 
meetings.  How  many  little  incidents  which  then 
occurred  have  been  again  and  again  related  by  one 
and  another  of  the  same  household;  and  all  tending 
to  show  the  singleness  of  aim  in  this  devoted  servant 
of  Christ." 

Still  another,  relating  an  incident  which  occurred 
in  the  course  of  these  meetings,  remarks : 

"  Dr.  Baker  was  often  attacked  in  his  travels  by 
infidels  and  scoffers  at  religion.  And  no  man  was 
more  successful  than  he  in  subduing  such  opponents, 
convincing  them  of  the  error  of  their  ways,  and 
leading  them  to  Christ.  Many  who,  when  they  first 
met  with  this  great  and  good  man,  regarded  the 
Bible  as  a  false  thing,  invented  by  wicked  men,  and 
all  who  believe  in  its  glorious  and  sublime  doctrines 
as  weak-minded,  now  give  praise  to  God  that  he  ever 
sent  such  a  man  to  them,  and  blessed  his  earnest 
preaching  and  heart-touching  conversation  to  their 
conversion. 

"  There  is  one  instance  in  which  he  was  the  means 
of  the  instantaneous  conviction,  and  we  trust,  the 
true  conversion,  of  one  who  habitually  and  openly 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  513 

ridiculed  the  religion  of  Jesus  and  his  people.  Dr! 
Baker  had  been  preaching  at  the  place  referred  to 
for  several  days,  and  a  revival  of  religion  followed. 
This  mocker  of  all  that  is  holy  went  to  the  meeting 
on  purpose  to  seek  for  something  for  which  he  might 
deride  him,  and  those  who  were  then  led  to  see  their 
danger,  and  to  fly  to  the  'E-ock  of  ages'  for  safety, 
under  his  powerful  preaching.  The  services  of  the 
day  had  commenced  when  he  entered  the  church. 
He  took  his  seat  in  front  of  the  pulpit.  All  was 
silence,  save  the  voice  of  the  preacher  proclaiming 
the  conditions  of  eternal  life  to  that  dying  assembly, 
and  the  groans  that  would  now  and  then  escape  from 
some  agonizing  penitent.  It  seemed  that  that  was 
indeed  the  house  of  God,  and  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
was  there  working  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.  The 
engaging  manner  of  Dr.  Baker  soon  attracted  and 
riveted  his  attention.  The  awful  truths  preached 
that  day  soon  aroused  his  sleeping  conscience,  and 
convinced  him  of  sin.  His  hard  heart  was  softened, 
and  the  stem,  the  notorious  scoffer,  was  subdued  to 
tears.  The  man  of  God  descended  from  the  sacred 
desk,  bringing  the  word  of  life  with  him,  entered 
into  conversation  with  the  weeping  man,  and  showed 
him  that  if  he  only  would  repent  and  come  to  Christ, 
he  would  forgive  all  his  sins,  and  save  him.  He 
who  had  always  before  left  the  house  of  worship 
with  a  sneer  of  derision  on  his  proud  lips,  on  that 
day  left,  an  humble  penitent,  weeping  aloud  as  he 
rode  away.  He  found  peace  in  the  wounds  of  a 
sacrificed  Saviour — ^became  a  minister  of  the  gospel 
in  the  Baptist  denomination — led  a  consistent  and 
useful  Christian  life;    and   from   tliat  day  forward, 


514  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

*found  his  greatest  delight  in  the  fellowship  of  those 
whom  before  he  had  despised." 

"I  have  heard  more  finished  orators" — remarks 
one,  concerning  his  preaching  at  this  time — "  men 
whom  it  was  more  pleasant  to  hear;  but  I  have  sel- 
dom heard  an  orator  who  made  his  hearers  under- 
stand him  better,  or  who  gave  them  less  room,  or 
less  occasion,  in  fact,  to  dodge  the  conclusions  to 
which  he  came.  He  is  composed,  and  thoroughly  in 
earnest.  He  seems  himself  to  follow  the  track  along 
which  he  leads  you,  to  be  practising  his  own  precepts, 
and  few  are  inclined  to  oppose  a  rebellious  spirit  to 
his  teachings.  It  is  the  distinctive  feature  of  his 
preaching,  that  he  speaks  not  to  a  conception  of  his 
hearers,  but  to  his  hearers.  Men  have  no  time  or 
opportunity  to  hand  his  admonitions  over  to  their 
neighbours.  Each  is  made  to  feel  that  he  himself  is 
the  object,  and  that  then  and  there,  in  view  of  the 
hopes  of  heaven  and  powers  of  hell  alone,  and  upon 
his  own  responsibility,  he  must  accept  them  or  reject 
them." 

The   following    letter    to    a   son   cannot    fail   to 
interest. 

"HuNTSViLLE,  September  Qth,  1855. 

My  dear  son  W. — Although  as  yet  I  have  re- 
ceived no  answer  to  my  last,  yet  will  I  write,  espe- 
cially as  I  have  some  pleasing  intelligence  to  com- 
municate. I  have  been  on  a  mission  to  the  Austin 
family,  and  my  mission  has  been  successful.  They 
have  agreed  to  endow  a  Professorship  in  Austin  Col- 


EEV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  515 

lege,  by  deeding  lands  to  the  amount  of  twenty 
thousand — it  may  be,  twenty-five  thousand  dollars. 
The  Professorship  is  to  be  named  after  an  only  and 
beloved  sister,  Eliza  Perry.  I  told  the  brothers  that 
I  left  the  amount  to  them,  but  the  more  princely  the 
endowment,  the  greater  would  be  the  honour  con- 
ferred on  their  sister.  Moreover,  the  'heirs'  have 
turned  over  the  claims  of  their  uncle,  Stephen  F. 
Austin,  on  the  late  Republic  of  Texas,  to  our  noble 
institution.  I  have  conversed  with  a  number  of  old 
Texans  and  others,  and  I  find  that  the  subject  wakes 
up  positive  enthusiasm.  So  I  think  we  shall  cer- 
tainly gain  something  by  it. 

"Another  thing  I  must  tell  you  is  this:  Mr.  Guy 
Bryan  has  made  the  College  a  donation  of  a  splendid 
painting,  a  fine  likeness  of  Stephen  F.  Austin,  large 
as  life.  It  cost  three  hundred  dollars.  He  had 
two  painted  by  an  English  artist ;  one  was  designed 
for  the  Senate  chamber,  the  other  for  the  House  of 
Eepresentatives,  at  Austin:  but  one  has  been  given 
to  our  CoUege.  A  fine  present  this.  It  will  be  a 
fine  and  very  appropriate  adornment  to  our  College 
chapel. 

Daniel  Baker." 

After  each  absence  from  home,  on  his  return  he 
enjoyed  greatly  the  quiet  pleasures  it  afforded.  For 
months  he  would  enter  with  zest  into  its  enjoyments. 
When  not  engaged  in  his  study,  he  would  be  out  in 
the  field,  the  garden,  the  yard,  with  hoe  and  spade, 
hammer  and  saw,  working  with  an  energy  which  was 
his  nature.     No  one  could  enjoy  the  familiar  inter- 


516  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

course  of  the  household  more  than  he.  Nevertheless, 
he  had  too  long  led  an  active  Ufe  to  rest  contented 
at  home.  Like  a  mariner  on  shore,  whose  heart  still 
heaves  to  the  motion  of  the  recent  sea,  whose  blood 
still  courses  to  the  swift  sailing,  with  favouring  gales 
and  over  smooth  seas,  of  the  ship  from  which  he  has 
landed — so  with  the  subject  of  this  Memoir.  Sooner 
or  later  he  became  restless  in  the  narrower  and  lesser 
routine  of  Hfe  at  home.  In  a  few  months  after  each 
return,  the  hand  of  his  Master  would  lead  him  out 
again,  a  willing  servant,  to  engage  with  fresh  zeal  in 
labours  abroad. 

The  remark  was  often  made  in  regard  to  Dr. 
Baker,  how  high  he  would  have  risen,  had  he  gone 
from  the  outset  into  political  life,  instead  of  the 
pulpit.  What  a  millionaire  he  would  have  become 
as  a  merchant.  Let  the  truth  be  spoken.  No,  it  is 
not  so.  It  was  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  which,  in 
almost  every  sense  of  the  word,  made  him  the  man 
he  was.  We  have  seen  that  his  childhood  was 
moulded  in  a  community  peculiarly  religious.  We 
have  seen,  too,  that  while  yet  a  boy,  the  Saviour 
passing  by,  had  laid  his  hand  upon  his  head,  and 
bade  him  follow.  In  rising  to  follow  this  Master,  he 
attained  a  larger  manhood  than  he  would  ever  other- 
wise have  known.  The  knowledge  of  Christ  elevated, 
expanded,  and  strengthened  his  intellect  as  nothing 
else  could  have  done.  It  was  the  love  for  Christ, 
and  the  consequent  love  for  his  feUow-men,  which 
enlarged,  invigorated,  and  lent  a  swifter  beat  to  his 
heart.  Intellect,  heart,  even  bodily  frame,  received 
from  God  the  Holy  Ghost  a  supernatural  develop- 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  517 

meiit  and  quickening.  It  was  "the  knowledge  of 
the  Son  of  God"  which  caused  him  to  grow,  so  far  as 
he  did  grow,  "unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure 
of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ."  Had  he 
remained  unregenerate,  he  would  never,  in  any  pur- 
suit in  life,  have  risen,  as  a  man,  to  the  rank  of  man- 
hood he  did  attain  as  a  servant  of  Christ.  No  other 
object  whatever  could  have  aroused  him  to  the 
energy  he  displayed  in  striving  for  the  salvation  of 
souls.  No  conceivable  motive  could  have  "con- 
strained" him  as  did  "love  of  Christ."  What  duty 
was  to  Wellington,  glory  to  Napoleon,  love  of 
country  to  Washington,  the  love  of  Christ  was  to 
him,  as  it  was  to  Paul,  and  as  it  is  to  all  servants  of 
Christ,  according  to  their  measure  of  faith.  This 
was  the  effectual  antidote  to  him,  against  being 
in  the  least  "puffed  up"  by  the  success  of  his 
preaching.  He  was  not  such  a  novice  as  to  forget 
for  an  instant,  that  in  whatever  degree  he  excelled, 
it  was  solely  and  only  the  Spirit  of  God  working  in 
and  by  him;  and  this  effectually  cures  any  tendency 
on  the  part  of  those  who  loved  and  esteemed  him 
most,  to  exalt  him  above  measure.  Place  beside 
him  the  least  successful  minister  in  the  Church — in 
whatever  degree  he  excelled  that  minister,  who  can 
be  so  blind  as  not  to  know,  that  it  was  simply 
because  a  sovereign  God  had  given  to  the  one  a 
larger  measure  of  the  Holy  Spirit  than  to  the 
other]  Our  wonder  is  not  at  the  man,  but  at  the 
wonderful  working  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  him  and  by 
him. 

Wherever   settled  as  a  pastor,  his  studies  were 
44 


518  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

pursued  with  characteristic  ardour.  He  spared  no 
pains  in  writing  and  re-writing  his  discourses.  His 
familiar  letters  arc  the  only  papers  from  his  hand 
upon  which  he  did  not  bestow  the  most  elaborate 
labour;  and  even  these  are  singularly  neat — ^never  a 
blot,  scarcely  ever  an  interlineation  even — for  it  had 
become  a  second  nature  to  do  his  very  best  at  what- 
ever he  put  his  hand.  It  need  not  be  said,  that  in 
his  study,  the  Bible  was  his  chief  book.  While 
attaching  the  highest  value  to  theological  training, 
so  far  as  that  training  made  the  word  of  God  and 
human  nature  a  subordinate  study,  he  regarded  it  as 
an  evil.  Next  to  the  Bible,  he  prized  "Baxter's 
Saint's  Hest,"  for  devotional  reading;  but  he  was  a 
rapid  reader  of  whatever  bore  in  any  way  upon  his 
profession. 

For  all  forms  of  metaphysics  he  had  a  positive 
aversion.  As  to  studying  the  elaborate  works  of  in- 
fidels against  Christianity,  he  occasionally  attempted 
it;  but  his  patience  would  always  fail.  With  him 
it  was  worse  than  as  if  he  should  stand  at  high  noon, 
and,  with  the  meridian  splendour  of  the  sun  blazing 
full  upon  the  page,  read  an  argument  proving  that 
there  is  no  sun.  He  was  not  philosophic  enough  for 
the  task.  Of  religious  poetry  he  was  very  fond.  In 
regard  to  fiction,  he  was  never  known  to  read  a  novel 
in  his  life.  Once  a  friend  met  him  in  the  street,  his 
arms  filled  with  the  novels  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  which 
he  had  borrowed,  and  was  bearing  home.  In  answer 
to  some  exclamation  of  surprise — "You  know  I 
preach  against  novel  reading,"  he  replied,  "and 
really  I  ought  to  see  for  myself  what  they  contain." 


KEY.  DANIEL  BAKER,  D.  D.  519 

He  never  began  the  second  chapter,  however,  of  the 
first  volume. 

During  the  visit  of  Dickens  to  this  country,  his 
curiosity  being  excited  by  the  enthusiasm  aroused, 
he  attempted  to  read  "Oliver  Twist;"  it  was  a  task, 
and  an  uncompleted  one.  By  temperament  fond  of 
wonder  and  excitement,  yet  the  wonders  of  romance 
were  small  with  him  in  comparison  to  the  awful  and 
eternal  realities  upon  which  his  mind  so  habitually 
dwelt;  the  "thrilling  scenes"  of  the  novelist,  even 
had  they  been  true,  were  tame  to  the  scenes  with 
which  he  was  so  conversant.  The  sister,  weeping  on 
the  shoulder  of  the  converted  brother;  the  pious 
elder  rejoicing  in  the  conversion  of  a  son,  perhaps 
dissipated;  the  hoary-headed  mother,  clasping  to  her 
aged  bosom  her  child  who  had  long  wandered  from 
the  household  of  faith;  the  pious  husband  exulting 
in  the  conversion  of  his  wife,  or  she  receiving  the 
long-hoped  fruit  of  many  tears  and  prayers  in  the 
conversion  of  her  husband;  the  inexpressible  joy  of 
the  young  convert  in  the  first  clear  dawning  upon 
the  soul  of  the  Sun  of  Eighteousness ;  or  the  joy  of 
a  whole  church,  perhaps  long  distracted  by  feuds 
and  barren  of  fruit,  in  the  outpouring  upon  it  of  the 
Holy  Ghost — frequent  scenes  such  as  these,  made 
pale,  to  his  eye,  as  the  paper  upon  which  it  is 
printed,  the  most  vivid  fictions  of  the  novelist. 

As  to  the  moral  reformation  of  the  world,  written 
after  so  much  of  late  by  novelist,  politician,  and  poet, 
his  belief  was  a  very  plain  and  simple  one,  summed 
up  in  few  words — first,  "  The  heart  is  deceitful  above 
all  things,  and  desperately  wicked,"  and,  as  such, 


520  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

doomed  to  eternal  ruin;  second,  the  one  remedy  for 
this  is  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  the  regenerating  and 
sanctifying  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  There  is  no 
use  of  disguising  the  fact,  he  was  a  man  of  one  book, 
the  Bible ;  of  one  idea,  the  salvation  of  men  by  a  cru- 
cified Saviour;  of  one  occupation  and  object  in  life, 
the  making  known,  as  he  was  enabled  of  God,  Ihis 
salvation  to  men.  And  here  was  the  secret  of  his 
enthusiasm  in  regard  to  the  College,  an  enthusiiism 
which  aroused  more  than  the  ardour  and  energy  of 
youth  in  the  man  of  three-score  years.  His  leading 
object,  thought,  and  hope,  in  regard  to  the  College 
was,  that  thereby  young  men  might  be  better  qusvli- 
fied  to  serve  God  out  of  the  ministry  if  not  called, 
but  especially  in  the  ministry,  if  called  of  God. 
Young  men  of  piety  and  promise  had  no  peace,  whon 
in  his  reach,  until  they  had  prayerfully  considered 
whether  or  not  it  was  their  duty  to  serve  God  fcs 
ministers  of  the  gospel.  To  a  father  who  sought  his 
advice  in  regard  to  such  a  son,  he  replied,  "  I  would 
give  him  the  necessary  education  if  I  had  to  live 
upon  corn  bread  and  cold  water  three  times  a  day!" 
Toward  young  ministers  he  had  a  warm  feeling;  and 
he  was  of  opinion  that  such  could  greatly  benefit 
themselves,  as  well  as  advance  the  cause  of  Christ, 
by  spending,  when  practicable,  the  first  years  of  their 
ministry  upon  the  frontier ;  the  domestic  missionary 
work  he  regarded  as  an  admirable  school  for  the 
pastorate. 

About  the  1st  of  February,  1856,  he  left  Hunts- 
ville  upon  his  sixth  tour  on  behalf  of  the  College, 
and  to  attend  the  General  Assembly.  During  this 
trip  his  labours  were  greatly  blessed  at  various  towns 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  521 

in  Louisiana  and  Alabama.     He  writes  during  this 
tour  as  follows: 

"TuSKEGEE,  Alabama,  May  Gth,  1856. 

"  My  dear  Wife — No  letter  from  home  yet !  But 
I  hope  to  receive  a  large  number  a  few  days  hence, 
for  I  shall  probably  reach  Augusta  to-morrow  night 
or  next  morning,  when  I  calculate  on  a  feast,  made 
more  delightful  by  long  abstinence. 

"Well,  I  have  been  sick  again;  so  sick,  indeed, 
that  I  had  to  recall  some  of  my  appointments,  and 
was  in  bed  all  day  last  Sabbath.  Truly  I  have  been 
labouring  in  the  vineyard  a  long  time ;  and  as  the 
hireling  longs  for  the  shadows  of  the  evening  that  he 
may  have  repose,  so  it  is  with  me.  I  think  I  can 
truly  say,  I  desire  to  depart  and  be  with  Christ, 
which  is  far  better.  Last  Sabbath,  I  think  if  the 
physician  had  said  to  me,  'It  will  soon  be  over,'  I 
think  I  would  have  exclaimed,  'Good  news! — good 
news!'  But  I  confess,  that  if  God  please,  I  would 
rather  breathe  my  last  breath  in  the  bosom  of  my 
dear  family.  I  know  I  am  a  poor,  imperfect  crea- 
ture, but  I  do  not  know  that  I  shall  ever  be  better 
prepared  for  my  long  home  than  I  now  am.  But  in 
relation  both  to  the  time  and  the  manner  of  my 
death,  I  hope  I  shall  always  be  able  to  say.  The  will 
of  the  Lord  be  done. 

Daniel  Baker." 

*'New  York,  May  15ih,  1856. 

"My  dear  Wife — This  is  the  day  for  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Assembly;  the  members  are  pouring  in 
rapidly.     I  think,  after  this,  the  College   must  get 
4i* 


522  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

another  agent;  I  find  that  the  object  is  by  no  means 
a  popular  one.  More  must  be  done  at  home.  After 
the  meeting  of  the  Assembly  I  purpose  to  do  what  I 
can  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  and  then  try 
what  I  can  do  in  Virginia. 
"Affectionately, 

Daniel  Baker." 

"New  York,  May  I6th,  1856. 

"My  own  Daughter — The  Assembly  convened 
yesterday.  Two  hundred  and  thirty-two  members 
were  enrolled  the  first  day — the  second,  two  hundred 
and  fifty.  A  large  Assembly,  truly.  Rev.  Dr.  Rice 
preached  the  opening  sermon,  from  2  Tim.  iv.  1,  2. 
A  very  fine  sermon  it  was.  Dr.  McFarland  was 
elected  Moderator.  My  name  was  nominated,  but 
at  my  special  request  it  was  withdrawn. 

"I  am  to  preach  for  Dr.  P.  next  Sabbath,  and  for 
Dr.  A.  the  Sabbath  after.  I  have  received  more 
invitations  than  I  can  attend  to.  Some  of  the  salu- 
tations which  I  receive  from  ministers  from  various 
quarters  are  touching.  I  believe  that  many  do  love 
me.  AVell,  my  daughter,  the  Board  have  caught  at 
the  idea  of  publishing  my  Address  to  Children — title, 
'Daniel  Baker's  Talk  to  Little  Children.'  It  is  going 
to  be  a  pretty  little  book,  with  appropriate  cuts. 
The  new  edition  of  my  'Revival  Sermons^  is  now  in 
press.  I  never  dreamed  of  such  a  demand.  May 
God  make  the  work  a  blessing  to  many,  even  when 
the  hand  which  wrote  the  sermons  shall  be  moulder- 
ing in  the  grave. 

"  Your  own  dear  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  523 

"New  York,  31ay  Hist,  185G. 

"My  dear  Son — We  have  had  a  most  delightful 
meeting  of  the  Assembly;  every  thing  perfectly  har- 
monious. On  Saturday  last,  both  Assemblies  were 
treated  to  an  excursion  to  Randal's  and  Blackwell's 
Islands,  to  see  the  benevolent  Institutions  located 
there.  A  very  pleasant  excursion  it  was;  and  on 
Monday  afternoon  we  had  another  excursion  (I  mean 
those  of  our  own  Assembly)  to  Greenwood  Cemetery. 
Some  thirty  carriages  were  kindly  provided  for  our 
accommodation.  Both  excursions  were  made  more 
interesting  by  speeches,  singing,  &c.  I  was  called 
upon,  but  having  a  bad  cold,  declined.  Dr.  Lord  has 
invited  me  to  go  to  Buffalo,  and  I  think  I  will  go. 
"With  regard  to  my  success  as  an  agent,  there  has 
been  nothing  to  boast  of.  The  Legislature  of  Texas 
must  render  aid,  or   *    *    * 

"From  the  old  man  of  silvery  locks. 

Your  father, 

Daniel  Baker." 

After  the  adjournment  of  the  Assembly,  Dr.  Baker 
held  meetings  in  various  places  in  New  Jersey,  Vir- 
ginia, and  North  Carolina,  with  the  usual  blessing  of 
God  upon  his  labours.  In  his  letters  at  this  period, 
he  speaks  with  peculiar  feeling  of  meetings  at  which 
he  had  been  present,  in  Hampden  Sydney  College, 
and  in  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  at  each  of 
which  institutions  about  twelve  students  made  pro- 
fession of  religion.  This  gave  him  special  pleasure ; 
for,  covetous  for  the  increase  of  the  cause  of  his 
beloved  Master,  with  the  eye  of  faith,  he  would 
reckon  up  the  souls  to  be  converted  hereafter,  by  the 


524  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

labours  of  each  educated  youth — counting  lipon  and 
rejoicing  in  the  success  of  those  labours  in  advance. 
It  was  a  pleasure  to  witness  his  joy  in  the  conversion 
of  a  youth  of  piety  and  promise — it  was  a  joy,  not 
only  as  over  one  sinner,  but  of  multitudes  of  sinners 
saved — in  anticipation — by  their  labours  hereafter. 

It  is  thus  that  he  expresses  himself,  in  a  letter  to 
Dr.  C.  C.  Jones,  during  the  meetings  in  South 
Carolina. 

"  You  recollect,  brother  Jones,  that  in  my  sermon 
before  the  General  Assembly  last  spring,  I  stated,  in 
emphatic  terms,  that  '  we  must  have  more  ministers,' 
and  that  my  heart  was  towards  the  young  men  of  our 
land,  as  Deborah  said  that  her  heart  was  towards  the 
governors  of  Israel,  who  offered  themselves  willingly. 
Well,  at  the  commencement  of  every  protracted 
meeting  which  I  held,  I  mentioned  distinctly  that 
the  '  harvest  was  great  and  the  labourers  few,'  and 
'  we  must  have  more  preachers.'  And  as  we  did  not 
wish  any  one  to  enter  the  ministry  unconverted,  we 
must  set  our  hearts  upon  the  conversion  of  young 
men.  And  as  for  myself  I  was  determined  to  make 
a  dead-set  upon  this  class  in  particular;  and  lo! 
already,  God  has  granted  the  desire  of  our  hearts. 
A  little  army  of  young  men  are  already  gathered 
around  the  standard  of  the  cross;  some  of  whom,  I 
do  hope,  will  soon  be  numbered  amongst  the  heralds 
of  salvation.  Indeed,  some,  I  am  told,  have  already 
had  their  attention  strongly  turned  that  way.  I 
trust  we  shall  have  at  least  one  tithe. 

"Nearly  all  who  have  professed  convcrson  have, 
by  their  respective  pastors,  been  added  to  the  com- 
munion of  our   church.     Last  Sabbath  I  beheld  a 


REV.   DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  525 

beautiful  sight — twenty  young  converts  seated  to- 
gether at  the  table  of  the  Lord;  and  the  Sabbath 
before,  a  sight  still  more  beautiful — one  whole  table 
filled  up  with  young  disciples,  fifty  in  number !  and 
amongst  them  so  many  prominent  men,  and  lovely 
and  promising  young  men!  O,  it  was  a  scene  of 
thrilling  interest,  well  worth  a  journey  of  a  hundred 
miles.  Nay,  more;  well  worth  an  angel's  visit  from 
the  skies.  To  God  be  all,  all  the  praise !  Do, 
brother  Jones,  get  many  of  our  venerated  and  be- 
loved pastors,  evangelists,  and  missionaries,  to  say 
'  we  must  have  more  ministers.'  E-emember  what  I 
told  you  in  Charleston,  and  what,  of  course,  you 
knew  before,  that  of*  seventy  churches  in  the  Synod 
of  Alabama,  thirty  are  not  supplied;  and  that,  in 
Texas,  we  have  not  more  than  about  one  minister 
of  our  communion  to  five  counties.  Our  standard 
bearers  are  falling,  and  the  number  of  candidates 
are  decreasing.  Only  think  of  that!  Something 
must  be  done.  Do  sound  the  tocsin  of  alarm,  and 
let  all  who  love  our  Zion  come  up  to  the  help  of  the 
Lord,  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the  mighty. 
Li  other  words,  adopt  some  method  of  sending  this 
saying,  '  we  must  have  more  ministers,'  through  the 
churches,  like  thunder  echoing  among  the  mountains. 
I  think  that  pastors  and  missionaries  should  take 
more  interest  in  this  matter.  Pious  and  promising 
youth  should  be  sought  out  and  encouraged  to  enter 
the  ministry. 

"Do  not  misunderstand  me.  I  am  not  for  urging 
any  young  man,  however  talented,  to  enter  upon  the 
sacred  office;  but  there  is  a  certain  kind  of  encour- 
agement that   might   very   properly  be  given,  and 


526  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

ought  to  be  given,  to  youths  who  bid  fair  to  be 
useful  in  the  ministry.  And  here  I  would  simply 
make  this  remark — if  I  had  not  met  with  some 
encouragement  (so  far  as  I  can  see)  I  would  never 
have  entered  upon  the  sacred  office." 

He  was  at  all  times  eager,  years  after  any  success- 
ful meeting,  to  learn  in  regard  to  the  firmness  of  the 
converts;  and  those  who  are  familiar  with  the 
results  of  meetings  at  which  he  assisted,  well  know 
how  very  rarely  he  had  cause  for  sorrow  herein. 
But  for  the  reason  spoken  of,  in  regard  to  young 
men  brought  in  of  God  by  his  means,  especially,  he 
could  say  with  the  Apostle,  "Now  we  live  if  ye 
stand  fast  in  the  Lord."  Hence,  and  it  is  natural, 
his  gratitude  is  most  excited  on  hearing  of  ministers 
converted  by  his  instrumentality.  In  this  sense, 
with  the  utmost  feeling  of  his  mere  instrumentality, 
he  would  rejoice  to  know  of  his  "spiritual  children," 
and  even  more  still  of  his  "spiritual  grandchildren;" 
loving  these,  as  is  common  in  the  earthly  relation, 
with  a  love  even  purer  and  more  tender  than  the 
others.  Bear  in  mind  the  multitudes  of  men  and 
women  made  by  his  labours,  under  God,  so  many 
separate  centres — as  citizens,  friends,  sisters,  bro- 
thers, husbands,  wives,  fathers,  mothers — of  saving 
influences  in  their  day,  and  down  ail  after  days. 
Then  add  to  this  the  host  of  those  brought  in  under 
his  preaching,  ana  afterward — as  Professors  in  Col- 
lege and  Seminary,  as  authors,  as  editors,  as  ministers 
in  all  branches  of  the  Church — so  blessed  of  God  in 
their  day,  and  down  all  generations  after — who  can 
calculate  the  power  thus  put  forth  by  the  xilmighty, 


KEY.  DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  527 

througli  the  medium  of  even  one  individual,  nothing 
in  himself]  There  is  in  this  the  infinity  as  well  as 
the  glory  and  the  bliss  of  eternity.  Do  not  even 
Gabriel  and  Michael  look  up  to  such  an  office  as 
this  with  holy  envy'?  And  what  joy  to  wear  in 
heaven  a  crown  so  sparkling  with  souls — a  joy,  not 
in  the  wearing  the  crown,  but  in  the  having  such  a 
crown  to  lift  from  the  brow,  and  cast  at  the  foot  of 
the  throne,  exclaiming  to  him  who  fills  it,  "Thou 
art  worthy,  O  Lord,  to  receive  glory,  and  honour, 
and  power!" 

During  this  whole  tour  the  health  of  Dr.  Baker 
was  not  so  strong  as  usual.  Yet,  if  he  did  not  now 
at  all  times  mount  up  on  wings  as  eagles,  he  never- 
theless ran  and  was  not  weary,  walked  and  was  not 
faint.  And  now  for  the  last  time  he  crossed  the 
Gulf  for  Texas.  In  the  "Old  States"  his  well- 
known  face  will  be  seen,  his  familiar  voice  will  be 
heard  no  more ! 

It  was  a  broad  field,  and  for  thirty-eight  years  had 
he  toiled  in  it  an  ordained  minister  of  Jesus  Christ. 
East,  West,  North,  South — over  almost  all  parts  of 
the  United  States — sowing  the  good  seed  along  its 
furrows,  on  stony  soil  and  good,  summer  and  winter, 
seed  time  and  harvest  too,  he  had  laboured  in  his 
Master's  cause  and  in  his  Master's  strength.  His 
work  therein  is  now  done.  Although  he  thinks  not 
so,  he  leaves  this  field  as  the  day-labourer  withdraws 
toward  his  home  at  the  close  of  the  day.  Some 
little  work  for  Him  he  loves  remains  for  his  hands 
to  do  in  Texas — but  little  more,  and  then — heaven. 
Taken  quite  sick  on  his  arrival  at  Houston,  in 
Texas,  he  stepped  from  the  stage  at  his  own  door 


528  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF  THE 

in  Himtsville,  during  the  first  week  of  December, 

1856,  more  wearied  from  his  labours  than  ever 
before. 

"  I  remained  in  office  as  President  of  the  College," 
he  says  in  his  autobiography,  "until  January  7th, 

1857,  when  I  resigned  the  office  of  President,  in 
order  that  I  might  give  myself  up  wholly  to  the  work 
of  the  agency,  and" — such  is  the  last  line  of  his 
autobiography. 

Turning  to  his  letters  home,  it  is  found  that  from 
this  period  he  toils  for  the  College,  with  the  same 
energy  which  had  not  faltered  since  his  first  concep- 
tion of  the  institution  for  an  instant ;  but  now  the 
field  of  his  toil  is  narrowed  down  to  Texas.  The 
following  letter  is  not  only  characteristic  of  the  man, 
but  shows  how  the  Institution  of  his  heart  is  appre- 
ciated in  Texas,  as  well  as  in  the  older  States. 

''HuNTSViLLE,  May  30th,  1857. 

"My  dear  Son — Last  Saturday  I  returned  from 
an  agency  tour  of  about  fiye  weeks  in  East  Texas. 
I  preached  nearly  sixty  sermons.  We  had  some  pre- 
cious meetings;  about  sixty  persons  awakened,  of 
whom  perhaps  twenty  or  twenty-five  were  hopefully 
converted.  I  received  about  one  hundred  dollars  in 
cash,  and  subscriptions  to  the  endowment,  something 
more  than  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  Is  not  this  doing 
pretty  well  for  an  old  man  operating  in  Texas;  and 
that,  too,  just  after  Jack  Frost  had  been  committing 
such  awful  ravages  in  the  field,  the  garden,  and  the 
forest  1 

"But  I  have  still  something  better  to  mention, 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  529 

and  something  which  I  think  will  surprise  you. 
The  Trustees  of  the  College,  at  their  meeting  in 
January  last,  sold  the  remainder  of  the  '  Wilberger 
tract,'  to  Messrs.  J.  C.  and  S.  E.  Smith,  of  this  place, 
for  five  thousand  dollars.  After  the  deed  was  made 
out  and  every  thing  done  in  legal  order,  Mr.  Sorley 
made  me  a  proposition,  in  writing,  to  this  effect, 
that  if  J.  C.  and  S.  R.  Smith  would  cancel  the 
engagement,  he  would  give  fifteen  thousand  dollars 
for  the  land.  This  astonished  me.  I  immediately 
went  to  the  Smiths,  and  without  letting  them  know 
anything  about  the  proposition  made,  I  asked  them 
if  they  were  not  willing  to  let  us  off.  'No.'  'Well, 
but,'  said  I,  '  I  will  give  you  one  thousand  dollars  to 
let  us  off.'  'No.'  They  were  satisfied,  and  did  not 
wish  to  give  up  the  land.  I  then  showed  them  Mr. 
Sorley's  written  proposition.  They  opened  their 
eyes.  They  marvelled,  and  knew  not  what  to  say. 
I  then  made  as  powerful  an  appeal  as  I  possibly 
could  to  their  magnanimity.  'Now,'  said  I,  'gentle- 
men, by  a  kind  Providence  you  have  been  placed  in 
a  situation  in  which  you  can  virtually  give  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  to  Austin  College,  without  taking  one 
dime  from  your  capital.  And  what  a  reputation  it 
will  give  you — a  reputation  most  enviable,  and 
founded  upon  a  rock  of  granite.  It  would  be  better 
than  if  you  had  given  us  outright  a  check  upon  New 
York  for  ten  thousand  dollars.  And  only  think  how 
it  would  aid  me  in  pleading  with  other  men  in  be- 
half of  Austin  College !  Moreover,  gentlemen,'  con- 
tinued I,  'if  I  were  not  principled  against  dancing, 
it  would  make  me  dance  for  joy.'  'Well,'  they  re- 
plied, they  would  'take  the  matter  into  consldera- 
45 


530  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

tion,  and  let  me  know  their  decision  before  long.' 
Day  before  yesterday  I  received  a  written  communi- 
cation from  them,  containing  the  following  words: 
'  We  agree  to  re-convey  said  land,  provided  the  same 
can  be  sold  for  seven  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  acre, 
as  stated.  In  reconveying  said  land,  we  are  well 
apprized  that  we  surrender  that  which  would  result 
very  profitably  to  us.  At  the  same  time,  we  cannot 
resist  our  great  desire  to  see  Austin  College  placed 
upon  a  permanent  footing.' 

"Is  not  this  noble'?  I  go  next  week  to  Galveston, 
Providence  permitting,  to  consummate  the  affair. 
And  now,  we  not  only  consider  the  'Baker  Pro- 
fessorship of  Mathematics'  endowed,  but  we  shall 
have  some  two  or  three  thousand  dollars  over  and 
above,  to  go  the  endowment  of  a  second  Professor- 
ship! Surely  we  have  special  reason  now  'to  thank 
God  and  take  courage.'  Of  course,  my  son,  you  will 
rejoice  with  me  in  the  brightening  prospects  of  our 
noble  institution.  Do  send  us  some  bright-eyed  boys 
at  the  opening  of  the  next  session.  Those  that  are 
dull  you  may  send  to  the  North.  Let  smart  ones 
stay  at  home ;  let  dunces  go  abroad. 

Daniel  Baker." 

Tto  his  son.) 

« HuNTSviLLE,  July  \st,  1857. 

"I  am  happy  to  inform  you  that  our  endowment 
scheme  goes  on  swimmingly.  During  my  trip  of 
some  five  weeks  in  East  Texas,  I  obtained  subscrip- 
tions to  the  amount  of  sixteen  hundred  dollars. 
During  my  more  recent  trip  to  Galveston,  Columbia, 
&c.,  I  obtained  for  the  College,  in  notes  and  land,  to 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  531 

the  amount  of  some  four  thousand  three  hundred 
dollars.  The  whole  amount,  added  to  the  resources 
of  the  College,  since  January  last,  is  something  like 
twenty-six  thousand  dollars !" 

After  a  short  stay  at  home,  he  revisited  Eastern 
Texas;  while  there,  he  thus  writes: 

"Henderson,  July  13th,  1857. 

"My  DEAR  Wife — 'Honour  to  whom  honour  is 
due.  My  first  letter  is  for  you.  This  is  right,  for 
I  was  acquainted  with  you  before  any  other  member 
of  our  family  circle;  even  some  forty-four  years  ago. 

0  what  changes  since  that  time! 

"  I  reached  this  place  in  time  to  preach  on  Satur- 
day night,  and  three  times  yesterday  (Sabbath.)  The 
people  came  out  in  crowds  to  hear  me.  Something 
has  awakened  a  special  interest.  They  tell  me  of 
several  of  their  relatives  having  been  converted  un- 
der my  preaching;  and  I  have  been  told  something 
about  some  children,  namesakes  of  mine! — all,  till 

1  came  here,  unknown  to  me.  The  people  seem  to 
hear  with  a  strong  hope  of  being  benefitted.  God 
grant  that  my  labours  may  be  greatly  blessed.  I 
think  a  very  good  impression  was  made  yesterday 
morning,  and  particularly  last  night.  No  person  has 
joined  the  Presbyterian  church  here  on  profession 
of  faith  for  some  two  or  three  years  past.  On  my 
coming  on  Saturday  last,  I  am  told  a  certain  man 
of  the  world  remarked,  'If  Mr.  B.  will  only  convert 
twenty-five  Henderson  sinners,  he  shall  have  my 
riding  horse,  and  he  is  worth  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars.'     Well,  although  Mr.  B.  cannot  convert  a 


532  LIFE  AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

single  sinner,  yet  the  Lord  can  make  him  the  means 
of  converting  more  than  twenty-five.  A  genuine 
revival  of  religion  here  is  an  event  very  greatly  to  be 
desired. 

Daniel  Baker." 

(to  the  same.) 
"Midway,  between  Shreveport  and  Linden,  Mig.  21ih,  1S57. 

"My  dear  Eliza — One  meeting  more,  and  then 
'home,  sweet  home.'  I  have  had  pleasant  times 
both  in  Shreveport  and  Linden;  seasons  of  refresh- 
ing from  the  presence  of  the  Lord.  The  meeting  in 
the  latter  place  was  even  better  than  in  the  former; 
and  as  to  the  matter  of  the  endowment,  I  have  suc- 
ceeded beyond  my  expectation — about  three  thou- 
sand dollars!  This  will  do  for  six  weeks'  labour. 
Besides,  I  have  received  nearly  four  hundred  dollars 
in  cash.  But  indeed  I  have  laboured  very  hard — 
generally  three  services  every  day  in  the  week. 
And  only  think  how  warm  the  weather  has  been! 
I  confess  I  desire  some  repose,  and  that  in  the 
bosom  of  my  family.  Well,  I  purpose  to  return  as 
soon  as  I  possibly  can ;  but  I  do  dread  the  ride — two 
hundred  miles  on  horseback  in  such  warm  weather, 
is  almost  too  much  for  one  who  has  reached  the 
period  of  three-score  and  six.  Last  Monday  I 
entered  upon  my  sixty-seventh  year — surely  I  am 
in  '  the  sere  and  yellow  leaf.' " 

"SnREVEPORT,    28//i. 

"Yes,  your  letter  at  last;  and  verily,  one  of  your 
most  interesting — quite  playful.  Well,  I  do  like 
every  thing  in  the  form  of  sunshine  and  smiles.     If, 


REV.   DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  533 

my  dear  wife,  you  were  in  better  health,  you  would 
be  more  fond  of  the  land  of  Beulah,  where  the  sun 
is  ever  shining,  and  the  birds  are  always  singing. 

Daniel  Baker." 

In  the  above,  as  in  all  his  letters.  Dr.  Baker 
speaks  of  the  remarkable  liberality  of  the  people  in 
giving  to  Austin  College.  During  his  agency  in 
behalf  of  the  Institution,  he  obtained  an  amount 
nearly  equal  to  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  even 
throwing  out  of  the  calculation  what  has  been  pro- 
mised, but  not  yet  paid  into  the  treasury.  A  large 
part  of  this  amount  was  given  as  the  result  of  meet- 
ings— as  the  reader  is  aware — during  which  God 
was  pleased  to  pour  out  his  Holy  Spirit,  reviving 
Christians,  and  converting  sinners.  What  an  illus- 
tration is  this  of  the  fact — for  it  is  an  invariable 
one — that  giving  is  one  of  the  graces  wrought  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  in  the  heart;  and  that  the  larger  the 
measures  of  the  Holy  Spirit  poured  out,  just  so 
much  the  more  do  the  recipients  thereof  "abound  in 
this  grace  also." 


45* 


534  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 


CHAPTEE  XV 


CLOSING    SCENES. 


On  September  9,  1857,  Dr.  Baker  arrived  in  Hunts- 
ville  from  his  journeying  in  behalf  of  the  College  in 
Eastern  Texas.  Nearly  twenty  years  have  passed 
since  he  first  conceived  the  idea  of  building  up  in 
Texas  an  institution  of  learning  of  the  highest  grade. 
That  idea  grew  within  him  through  all  those  years 
into  a  fixed  purpose ;  then  was  born  into  the  world, 
at  Huntsville,  an  enterprise  which  grew,  under  his 
untiring  care  and  hard-earned  sustenance  and  the 
prayers  of  all  the  brethren  in  Texas,  into  a  robust 
childhood,  full  of  fair  promise  for  the  future.  From 
the  outset,  his  interest  in,  and  labours  for  the  Col- 
lege, have  kno^vn  nothing  but  steady  increase.  So 
to  speak,  it  was  his  Benjamin,  the  darling  object  of 
his  old  age.  Enough  has  already  been  said  in  regard 
to  the  grand  purpose  of  Dr.  Baker  and  his  brethren 
in  establishing  this  Institution ;  one  thing  more  must 
be  added  fully  to  explain  his  enthusiasm  in  the 
matter. 

The  feeling  which  Texans  have  for  Texas  is  ma- 
terially unlike  that  which  even  a  Kentuckian  or 
a  Virginian  has  towards  his  own  State.  Owing  to 
its  comparative  size  and  its  past  history,  Texans  do 
not  regard  Texas  as  a  State  merely,  but  rather,  with 


REV.    DANIEL  BAKER,   D.  D.  535 

a  certain  undefined  feeling,  as  a  nation  in  itself;  and 
its  peculiar  present  and  prospective  influence  upon 
Mexico  does  not  diminish  this  impression.  No  one 
in  Texas  partook  more  largely  of  tliis  feeling  than 
Dr.  Baker;  nor  could  the  feeling  but  grow  as  he 
saw  the  population  of  the  State  increase  from  one 
hundred  thousand,  when  he  first  stood  upon  its  soil, 
to  more  than  six  hundred  thousand,  poured  abroad 
over  its  vast  area,  and  developing  its  immense  re- 
sources. 

The  Institution  of  learning  for  which  he  laboured, 
being  well  located,  and  securely  rooted  in  the  love 
and  pride  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  of  all  the 
friends  of  education  in  the  State,  was  regarded  by 
him,  as  has  been  said,  with  ever  increasing  interest. 
More  and  more  did  he  feel,  that  in  labouring  for 
this  Institution,  he  was  doing  the  utmost  in  his 
power  for  the  cause  of  learning  in  Texas,  and  also 
for  the  cause  of  Presbyterianism;  above  all,  for  the 
welfare  of  the  souls  of  men,  and  the  glory  of  the 
Master  he  loved  so  well:  and  from,  the  first  lift- 
ing of  his  hand  to  the  work,  that  Master  had  smiled 
his  approval;  that  Master  had  given  him  success  at 
home;  had  accompanied  him  wherever  he  journeyed, 
pouring  out  his  Holy  Spirit,  and  causing  the  soil  to 
mellow  and  yield  beneath  the  hand  of  his  servant  a 
rich  harvest  of  donations  for  the  College,  and  of 
souls  for  heaven. 

Thoroughly  satisfied  he  was,  that  in  the  whole 
matter,  from  first  to  last,  he  was  in  the  path  of  duty. 
Disappointed  and  rebufied  very  often  in  his  efforts 
abroad,  he  was  never  once  discouraged.  Perils  arose 
again  and  again  inside  of  the  College,  threatening  to 


536  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

heave  its  walls  asunder — still  his  faith  faltered  not. 
It  was  his  unalterable  belief  that  God  intended  to 
establish  the  College,  and  make  it  an  incalculable 
blessing  to  this  vast  territory,  the  name  of  whose 
pioneer  it  bears;  a  blessing,  perhaps,  to  those  re- 
gions beyond  yet  to  be  subdued  beneath  the  feet  of 
the  Saviour.  This  was  his  belief  and  motive  for 
exertion  before  the  College  was  born;  and  never  was 
this  conviction  stronger  than  when  he  was  lying 
upon  a  bed  of  death  at  Austin.  What  was  felt  by 
him,  was  felt  to  an  equal  extent  by  all  the  brethren 
in  Texas,  save  only  that  in  the  providence  of  God 
the  work  of  carrying  out  their  wishes  was  devolved 
more  immediately  upon  him. 

This  confidence  in  the  purpose  and  favour  of 
God  with  respect  to  the  College,  meant,  with  him, 
only  an  assured  confidence  in  the  divine  blessing 
upon  all  efforts  in  its  behalf;  and  from  the  first 
he  made  every  possible  endeavour  that  was  suggested 
to  him  by  others,  or  conceived  by  himself  Were 
the  lands  of  the  College  to  be  looked  after — though 
in  a  remote  part  of  the  State  1 — At  the  earliest  mo- 
ment he  was  there,  guiding  his  travel-worn  horse 
through  almost  impenetrable  cedar-brakes,  search- 
ing for  the  confused  corners  and  almost  oblite- 
rated bearings;  or,  in  the  nearest  surveyor's  office, 
poring  over  musty  and  bewildered  records,  more 
difficult  to  trace  on  the  paper  page  than  upon  the 
corrugated  bark  of  live-oak  and  blackjack.  Was 
anything  to  be  accomplished  by  correspondence'? — 
By  the  first  mail  went  forth  his  letters,  each  written 
with  an  accurate  precision,  to  obviate  any  possible 
misapprehension. 


REY.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  537 

As  to  his  efforts  for  the  College  during  his  six 
tours,  we  have  seen  how  he  toiled  and  how  he  suc- 
ceeded. Six  tours  to  beg  for  the  College  out  of  the 
State !  He  became  more  and  more  reluctant  to  beg 
in  this  way.  It  was  very  well  when  he  first  began; 
Texas  was  then  smaller  in  population,  and  indefi- 
nitely deep  in  debt;  but  when  that  population  so 
swiftly  doubled  itself,  when  that  debt  disappeared, 
leaving  Texas  with  millions  in  its  chest  for  present 
use,  and  incalculable  resources  for  the  future,  with 
the  steward  in  Scripture,  it  was  his  feeling,  "to 
beg  I  am  ashamed."  Two  resources  were  left  him; 
one  was  a  visit  to  England,  Ireland,  and  Scotland; 
and  he  felt  confident  that  if  God  led  him  east 
of  the  Atlantic,  he  would  bless  him,  as  he  had  so 
richly  west  of  it.  But  he  regarded  this  only  as  a 
last  resort;  his  other  resource,  in  which  he  had 
the  strongest  hope,  was  in  aid  from  the  State.  How 
he  hoped,  and  how  he  strove,  session  after  ses- 
sion of  the  Legislature,  to  obtain  this,  has  already 
been  seen.  On  his  return  from  Eastern  Texas, 
he  remained  at  home  more  than  a  month,  making 
all  possible  arrangements  to  prosecute  his  plans  at  a 
meeting  of  the  Legislature  to  take  place  at  Austin 
in  a  few  weeks. 

Let  us  pause  at  this  point  in  the  history  of  this 
man  of  God.  It  is  impossible  to  judge  of  men  by 
their  appearance  in  the  pulpit  and  the  parlour,  when 
away  from  their  own  pidpit  and  home.  A  higher 
testimonial  to  Dr.  Baker's  character  lies  in  this — 
that  God  blessed  him  fully  as  much  in  the  pastoral 
relation  as  in  that  of  Evangelist.  Much  as  he  was 
esteemed  and  loved  in  the  churches  in  which  his 


538  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

transient  labours  were  so  wonderfully  blessed,  he  was 
even  more  esteemed  and  loved  among  the  people  of 
his  own  charge ;  and  most  by  those  among  whom  he 
lived  longest.  Yet,  at  least,  it  is  not  how  he  ap- 
peared in  the  pulpit,  but  what  he  was  in  private  life; 
that  is  the  true  test  of  the  man.  These  pages  will 
be  read  by  many  in  the  various  places  in  each  of 
which  for  years  he  was  pastor, — and  I  appeal  to  you, 
in  so  many  cities  and  towns  this  land  over,  who 
knew  him  best,  were  his  most  intimate  friends ;  you 
who,  as  ruling  elders,  sat  with  him  so  often  in  ses- 
sion; you,  by  whose  fireside  he  has  so  often  been 
seated  in  the  unreserved  intercourse  of  friendship, 
before  whom  he  has  come  in  and  gone  out  in  the 
perfect  freedom  of  daily  life  for  years;  you  who  have 
known  him  under  all  the  vicissitudes  through  which 
men  pass  in  life — I  appeal  to  you,  if  all  that  he 
seemed  to  be,  under  the  most  propitious  circum- 
stances, in  public,  was  not  confirmed,  and  more  than 
confirmed,  by  all  that  he  was  in  private]  But  a  man 
may  appear  to  his  most  intimate  friends,  and  for 
years,  other  than  he  really  is  in  the  closer  intimacy 
of  his  own  family.  Then,  from  within  this  sacred 
circle  we  say  to  you,  as  before  God,  that  he  was  to 
our  eyes,  in  every  sense,  all  he  seemed  to  those 
without.  All'?  Far  more!  We  knew  his  hourly 
spirit  and  converse;  the  outgush  of  his  first  feelings; 
his  most  unpremeditated  words  and  deeds;  his  fast- 
ings and  trials;  his  midnight  wrestling,  like  Jacob, 
with  God,  when  alone,  as  he  supposed,  with  the 
Almighty.  It  is  so — why  should  we  not  say  it? 
Among  all  the  names  of  men — even  of  patriarchs, 
prophets,  apostles — there  is  no  one  whom  we  have 


REV.    DANIEL  BAKER,   D.  D.  539 

ever  venerated  and  loved  in  comparison  with  this 
man,  whom  we  knew  so  well.  Have  we  sinned 
herein'?  Pardon  us,  O  Lord — the  temptation  was 
so  great! 

But,  his  defects  of  character — what  were  these'? 
That  the  portrait  may  be  lifelike  and  true,  what 
are  the  shadows  as  well  as  lights'?  The  biographer 
has  pressed  this  question  upon  her,  who  should 
know  above  any  one  else;  he  has  inquired  as  widely 
as  possible  of  all  who  knew  him ;  he  has  tasked  his 
own  memory  to  the  utmost,  and  writes — what  he  has 
written.  All  that  Dr.  Baker  seemed  to  be,  he  was — 
alway  and  everywhere  —  because  he  acted  under 
eternal  and  invariable  principles,  even  those  of  the 
religion  he  preached  to  others ;  and  because  he  loved 
and  feared,  above  all  things.  One  whom  he  habitu- 
ally felt  to  be  at  all  times  with  him.  He  walked 
with  God.  So  far  as  he  was  cleansed  from  sin,  it  was 
by  the  blood  of  Christ;  so  far  as  he  was  holy,  it  was 
by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  regenerating  and 
sanctifying.  He  had  nothing  that  he  had  not  re- 
ceived. The  glory  of  any  excellence  seen  in  him  is, 
not  to  him  in  whom,  but  to  Him  %  whom  it  was 
wrought.  God  forbid  we  should  say  too  much  of 
him,  when  even  an  apostle  must  exclaim,  "O 
wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  shall  deliver  me  from 
the  body  of  this  death'?" 

He  has  now  attained  his  sixty-seventh  year.  The 
pen  of  the  writer  falters,  and  refuses  to  attempt  to 
sum  up  what  this  servant  of  Christ  has  accomplished 
for  his  Master  so  far;  it  recoils  from  any  effort  to 
delineate  farther  the  features  of  his  character.  It  is 
not  for  a  son  to  form  an  estimate  of  the  life  of  a 


540  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

father;  let  the  reader  of  this  volume  judge  for  him- 
self. The  facts  are  already  in  his  hands,  save  a  few 
remaining — alas,  how  few! 

Deeply  indeed  must  the  spotless  life,  and  abundant 
labours,  and  holy  influence  of  this  man  of  God  have 
left  their  impress  on  the  heart  of  Texas,  when,  on 
the  first  news  of  his  death,  the  Legislature,  in  both 
of  its  branches,  adjourned  instantly.  Though  in  the 
full  career  of  a  thronged  and  excited  session,  it  re- 
fused to  transact  business  in  the  shock  of  such  a  loss 
to  the  State,  expressing  in  unanimous  and  heartfelt 
resolutions  their  sense  of  that  loss. 

"  It  becomes  my  painful  duty,"  said  a  leading 
statesman  upon  the  floor  of  the  Legislature  on  that 
occasion,  "  to  announce  to  this  house  the  sudden  and 
unexpected  intelligence  of  the  death  of  one  of  Texas' 
public  benefactors;  the  E,ev.  Daniel  Baker  is  no 
more!  This  sad  intelligence  burst  upon  us  so  sud- 
denly and  unexpectedly,  that  it  has  been  difficult  to 
realize  the  truth.  I  could  not  believe  it  until  I 
visited  the  chamber  where  this  great  and  good  man, 
this  venerable  father  in  Israel,  died.  I  have  laid  my 
hand  on  that  cold  and  marble  brow,  have  gazed  on 
that  face  which  I  have  so  often  seen  lit  up  with 
animation  and  life,  but  now  stamped  with  the  cold 
impress  of  death.  I  have  pressed  that  hand  which 
I  have  so  often  grasped  before  in  the  warmth  of 
fricndsliip  and  affection,  but  now  stiffened  and  cold. 
I  know  that  he  is  dead.  As  a  general  thing,  I  am 
opposed  to  the  obtrusion  of  our  private  griefs  on  this 
house  to  the  interruption  of  business;  but  I  con- 
sider the  death  of  Dr.  Baker  a  public  calamity.  He 
is  justly  entitled  to  the  claim  and  rank  of  one  of 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,    D.  D.  541 

Texas'  benefactors.  His  exertions  and  usefulness 
were  confined  to  no  particular  locality,  no  limited 
sphere.  Possessed  of  a  catholic  spirit,  of  universal 
love  and  benevolence  towards  his  fellow-men,  he  was 
prompted  thereby  to  extend  his  sphere  of  usefulness 
as  wide  as  possible.  There  has  been  scarcely  a  State 
in  the  Union  but  has  heard  his  eloquent  pleadings 
in  behalf  of  religion  and  all  the  great  moral  interests 
of  society.  Twenty  years  ago  I  knew  the  deceased 
in  Alabama.  He  was  then  the  same  devoted,  enter- 
prising, assiduous  man  and  minister  that  he  has  been 
here ;  and  since  the  scene  of  his  usefulness  has  been 
transferred  to  this  State,  we  all  know  with  what 
untiring  efforts  he  has  exerted  himself,  not  only  in 
the  cause  of  his  Heavenly  Master,  but  especially  in 
the  cause  of  education.  He  has  left  proud  monu- 
ments in  proof  of  these  truths,  and  in  honour  to  his 
memory.  There  stands  not  two  hundred  miles  from 
this  place,  on  the  brow  of  a  lofty  summit,  a  beautiful 
edifice,  surrounded  by  shady  groves  and  academic 
walks.  In  it  is  opened  a  fountain  of  science,  at 
which  near  one  hundred  youths  daily  drink.  This 
edifice  is  Austin  College,  reared  principally  by  the 
noble  exertions  of  the  lamented  deceased,  whose 
loss  we  are  this  day  called  to  mourn.  But,  while 
these  monuments  stand,  and  I  hope  they  may  long 
continue  so  to  do  in  honour  of  Dr.  Baker,  he  is 
gone." 

When  the  tidings  of  his  death  reached  Hunts- 
ville,  his   own  home,  the   editor  of  a  paper  there, 
himself  not  a  professor  of  religion,  thus  expressed 
46 


542  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

the  result  of  a  long   acquaintance  with  him  as  a 
fellow-townsman : 

"The  news  of  the  sudden  death  of  Dr.  Baker 
came  like  an  earthquake  on  our  citizens  last  Monday 
night.  Hale  and  vigorous  in  our  midst  only  a  few 
short  weeks  ago,  he  is  now  at  rest.  Good  and  faith- 
ful servant,  thou  art  gone !  Hard-working  Christian, 
thou  hast  found  thy  reward !  Who  is  left  to  fill  thy 
place  here^ — not  one.  Men  like  our  venerable 
friend  are  only  made  once  in  an  age.  Alexander, 
Caesar,  Luther,  Cromwell,  Napoleon,  Jackson — but 
one  of  each  existed  at  one  time;  their  places  are 
never  filled.  So  with  Dr.  Baker,  in  his  sphere ;  his 
place  cannot  be  filled.  He  died  at  his  post. '  Truly 
a  great  man  has  fallen  in  Israel." 

And  these  were  but  the  sentiments  of  every  in- 
habitant of  the  place.  Immediately  on  hearing  the 
news  of  his  death,  a  town-meeting  spontaneously 
assembled.  By  order  of  the  College  some  time 
before,  a  portrait  of  Dr.  Baker  had  been  painted; 
this  was  displayed,  while  speaker  after  speaker  rose 
from  the  throng  to  express,  often  interrupted  with 
tears,  the  heart-felt  afiliction  of  all.  It  was  de- 
termined to  remove  the  remains  from  Austin,  and 
deposit  them  in  the  College  campus,  to  be  crowned 
with  a  suitable  monument,  as  a  lasting  memorial 
to  the  students,  who  generation  after  generation 
shall  flock  thither,  of  the  fomider  and  father  of  the 
Institution. 

As  the  news  of  his  death  passed  the  boundaries  of 
Texas,  it  was  caught  up  by  journals,  secular  and 
religious,  and  made  known  over  the  whole  land  with 


REV.    DANIEL  BAKER,  D.  D.  543 

various  yet  unanimous  comment.  It  was  communi- 
cated by  hundreds  of  pastors  to  their,  people  from 
pulpit  and  in  prayer-meeting,  filling  with  sudden 
sadness  houses  of  worship  once  overflowing,  under 
his  labours,  with  the  gladness  of  revival.  As  the 
tidings  -spread  more  and  more  widely  among  the 
families  that  knew  him,  in  cities,  towns,  villages, 
and  scattered  cabins  along  the  farthest  frontier,  the 
exclamations  of  grief  at  the  tables  and  firesides  of 
ten  thousand  households— all  these  make  up  the 
impartial  and  unfeigned  summary  of,  and  comment 
upon,  the  Christian  character,  life,  and  labours  of 
him  who  is  gone.  It  is  not  necessary,  it  is  not 
expedient,  that  a  son  should  further  speak  where  so 
much  is  said  by  others. 

On  the  morning  of  October  22d,  1857,  Dr.  Baker 
took  his  usual  affectionate  leave  of  his  family,  Httle 
thinking,  he  or  they,  that  never  more  on  earth  was 
he  to  see  their  faces.  His  wife  followed  him,  as  his 
horse  was  led  to  the  block  for  him  to  mount.  From 
the  hour  she  had  given  herself  to  him,  so  many  years 
before,  to  be  his  wife,  she  had  as  faithfully  fulfilled 
the  duties  allotted  to  her,  by  their  common  Lord,  as 
he  had  the  duties  allotted  to  him.  And,  as  the  wife 
and  helpmeet  of  such  a  man,  her  duties  were  great, 
beyond  what  ordinarily  devolves  upon  a  minister's 
wife  by  far.  As  the  wife  of  his  bosom,  as  the 
mother  of  his  children,  yea,  as  her  with  whom  he 
took,  beyond  the  wont  of  most  husbands,  sweet 
counsel,  and  walked  unto  the  house  of  God  in  com- 
pany, their  relationship  to  each  other  had  been  pecu- 
liarly happy;  a  closer  or  happier,  earth  never  knew. 
He  is  as  hale  and  strong  as  she  is  fragile,  yet  to- 


544  LIFE   AND   LABOURS  OF   THE 

gether  they  have  trod  the  pilgrimage  of  life,  together 
they  approach  its  end.  With  anxiety  she  noticed 
the  difficulty  he  had  in  seating  himself  upon  the 
restive  animal,  and,  with  many  charges  to  be  careful, 
she  bade  him  an  affectionate  adieu.  For  the  first 
time  in  a  long  life,  as  she  afterward  remarked,  she 
felt  in  parting  with  him,  instead  of  the  usual  sense 
of  pain,  a  singular  sense  of  actual  pleasure.  Was  it 
a  premonition  of  their  next  meeting'?  Parting, 
thus,  at  the  gate  of  their  home,  it  was  a  separation 
of  only  a  few  months;  they  have  met  since  within 
the  gates  of  their  eternal  home,  never  to  know 
parting  more. 

The  Synod  of  Texas  was  to  meet  at  Palestine,  in 
Eastern  Texas.  Reaching  this  place  in  safety,  he 
thus  wrote  to  his  son  at  Austin. 

"November  8th,  1S57. 

"  This  is  Sabbath  evening.  I  have  just  returned 
from  the  church,  where  I  preached,  with  some  liberty, 
from  the  words,  '  Come,  and  go  with  us.'  I  left  the 
pastor  conversing  with  several  who  have  applied  to 
be  received  into  the  communion  of  the  church.  We 
have  had  a  full  and  a  delightful  meeting  of  the 
Synod.  Every  thing  was  perfectly  harmonious.  It 
has  proved  one  of  the  most  interesting  meetings  of 
Synod  that  I  ever  attended;  I  trust  the  results  will 
be  most  happy.  On  Saturday  night  we  adjourned, 
to  have  a  final  meeting  to-morrow  morning  at  half- 
past  eight  o'clock,  for  the  purpose  of  fraternally 
mingling  our  devotions,  and  bidding  each  other  an 
affectionate  farewell.  I  set  out  to-morrow  with 
brother  W.,  and  shall,  as  I  suppose,  spend  the  coming 


REV.  DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  545 

Sabbath  with  him  at  Concord  and  Wheelock.  The 
probability  is  I  shall  pass  on  immediately  after  the 
Sabbath  to  Austin. 

"  On  Wednesday  last  my  horse,  frightened  by  the 
fluttering  of  my  half-opened  umbrella,  ran  away  with 
me,  and  I  was  thrown  with  violence  upon  the 
ground,  but,  by  a  kind  Providence,  I  received  no 
serious  injury.  I  intend  to  be  more  careful  in  the 
use  of  my  umbrella  in  time  to  come.  But  I  must 
not  write  any  more  to  night,  as  I  have,  for  a  wonder, 
'a  shocking  bad  cold,'  and  writing  by  candle-light 
will  do  my  weeping  eyes  no  good." 

It  was  his  intention  to  have  returned  to  Hunts- 
ville  from  Synod  before  going  to  Austin;  he  now 
determined  to  proceed  to  Austin  immediately,  as  the 
letter  shows.  Eight  years  before  this,  the  writer  had 
gone  to  Austin,  had  organized  a  church  there  with 
five  members,  and  had  been  permitted  to  see  it  grow 
steadily  into  a  self-sustaining  pastoral  charge.  For 
years  it  had  been  the  wish  of  the  church  that  Dr. 
Baker  would  attend  a  protracted  meeting  with  them. 
Though  he  had  occasionally  visited  Austin,  circum- 
stances had  always  prevented  this.  In  view  of  this 
expected  visit  much  prayer  had  been  offered,  and  it 
was  a  matter  of  ardent  desire  and  fervent  prayer  on 
the  part  of  pastor  and  people  that  the  visit  would 
be  attended  with  a  blessing.  But  it  was  not  to  be ; 
perhaps  there  was  too  much  reliance  on  an  arm  of 
flesh. 

Meanwhile  the  pastor  of  the  church  was  taken 
seriously  ill.  As  he  lay  in  his  chamber  on  the  even- 
ing of  Thursday,  the  19th  of  November,  1857,  a  well- 
46* 


546  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

known  foot-fall  was  heard  upon  the  floor  of  the  hall, 
and  a  well-known  form  entered  his  door.  The  more 
than  fatherly  sympathy  with  which  he  greeted  the 
son,  the  cordial  cheerfulness  of  his  manner  as  he 
seated  himself  by  the  bedside,  in  the  full  glow  of 
health,  banished  the  atmosphere  of  sickness  from  the 
chamber  as  by  a  burst  of  sunshine.  Embracing  his 
daughter  and  grandchildren,  he  immediately  re- 
counted the  manner  in  which  he  had  been  greeted 
by  a  group  of  members  of  the  Legislature  at  the 
door  of  the  livery  stable,  on  alighting  from  his  horse ; 
how  they  had  welcomed  him  to  Austin,  and  assured 
him  of  their  sympathy  and  assistance  in  obtaining 
aid  from  the  State  for  the  College — all  in  his  usual 
lively  vein,  showing  how  greatly  encouraged  he  was 
by  the  incident — it  was  but  an  incident — but  encour- 
agement was  the  atmosphere  and  element  by  which 
he  was  always  surrounded.  He  complained  some- 
what of  being  fatigued,  but  was  up  early  the  next 
morning,  and  was  engaged  the  rest  of  the  week  with 
his  usual  energy  and  hopefulness  among  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Legislature,  in  his  eflbrt  to  obtain  money 
or  land  for  the  College  by  legislative  enactment. 
Upon  this  he  had  set  his  heart,  and  it  was  the 
absorbing  theme  of  his  thoughts  and  conversation  to 
the  hour  of  his  death.  It  need  hardly  be  added  that 
he  was  treated  by  the  members  of  the  Legislature, 
and  all  others,  with  that  marked  respect  and  vene- 
ration accorded  to  him  by  every  individual  who 
knew  him,  or  even  met  him  without  knowing  who 
he  was;  such  was  the  effect  produced  by  his  very 
aspect. 

On  Sabbath,  November  22d,  he  preached  morning 


REY.   DANIEL   BAKER,  D.  D.  547 

and  night  to  large  audiences,  his  son,  the  pastor  of 
the  church,  being  still  confined  to  his  bed.  So  great 
was  the  interest  manifested  at  the  night  service,  that 
it  was  afterward  greatly  regretted  that  notice  had 
not  been  given,  and  preaching  appointed  for  Monday 
night  also.  He  had  thought  of  giving  such  a  notice 
on  Sabbath  night,  he  told  the  sick  pastor  afterward, 
but  did  not  like  to  do  so  on  account  of  not  having 
previously  consulted  that  pastor;  so  habitual  was  his 
dehcacy  of  feeling  in  such  matters,  that  he  acted  thus 
even  when  the  pastor  was  his  own  son.  During  the 
ensuing  week  he  laboured  with  his  usual  energy  in 
behalf  of  the  College,  and  all  who  met  with  him  at 
this  time  will  bear  witness  to  the  fact,  that  to  attain 
his  object  he  did  all  that  man  could.  During  this 
week  he  thus  writes  to  his  wife  at  Huntsville : 

"Austin,  November 2Sth,  1857. 

''  I  have  now  been  in  Austin  more  than  a  week, 
and  expect  to  leave  in  a  few  days,  on  my  return 
home — but  not  direct.  I  shall  go  by  the  way  of 
Wheelock,  where  I  expect  to  be  in  two  weeks  from 
this  time. 

"  The  boys,  my  grandchildren,  have  as  much  life 
as  need  be.  H.  is  really  a  good  boy,  and  D.  is  sweet 
and  pretty,  but  has  a  high  temper,  and  seems  much 
inclined  to  teaze  and  lord  it  over  his  brother.  Last 
night,  after  H.  had  got  into  bed,  D.  insisted  upon 
his  rising  and  coming  to  him.  When  H.  com- 
plied, what  did  he  wish  nextl  That  he  should  go 
into  the  closet;  and  when  H.  had  complied  with  this 
whim,  what  nexf?  He  immediately  closed  the  door 
upon  him,  and  seemed  to  triumph  in  the  thought 


548  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

that  he  had  made  his  brother  his  prisoner.  After 
H.  was  released,  and  had  again  got  into  bed,  the 
little  tyrant  insisted  upon  going  over  the  process 
again.  The  little  boy  is  always  upon  the  move,  and 
has  his  own  way  of  amusing  himself.  Last  night, 
after  putting  on  his  night-shirt,  he  took  a  notion 
that  he  must  equip  himself  and  set  out  on  a  journey 
to  another  room.  So,  what  does  he  do — gets  his 
father's  boots,  puts  on  his  grandpa's  hat,  which 
nearly  swallowed  up  his  whole  head,  and  then, 
taking  grandpa's  walking  cane,  he  must  have  the 
door  thrown  open  before  him,  and  away  he  goes. 
But,  being  told  that  he  must  say  to  all,  Good-by,  he 
made  an  attempt  to  take  off  his  hat  and  bow  to  the 
company,  when  down  he  came. 

"I  have  had  a  very  bad  cold  lately — so  hoarse  I 
could  not  preach  on  thanksgiving  day,  as  I  was  re- 
quested and  expected  to  do.  I  hope  I  shall  be  able 
to  preach  to-morrow;  and  O  that  it  may  be  with 
liberty  and  success!  And  so  you  were  in  our  new 
church  last  Sabbath  morning.  God  grant  it  may  be 
the  spiritual  birth-place  of  many  a  precious  soul. 

"  Our  prospects  for  legislative  aid  for  the  College 
are  brightening.  Nearly  all  the  members  seem  dis- 
posed to  do  something.  The  difficulty  was  the  basis 
or  plan ;  and  now  I  think  we  have  got  it.  To  give 
one  thousand  dollars  and  one  league  of  land  for 
every  ten  thousand  dollars  obtained  by  private  sub- 
scription or  donation:  the  evidence  to  be  furnished 
by  the  records  of  the  College,  attested  by  the  Secre- 
tary or  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  under 
oath.  This  plan  seems  to  be  deemed  by  all  most 
equitable  and  just,  and  I  hope  will  prevail.     In  the 


KEY.    DANIEL  BAKER,  D.  D.  549 

House  I  heard  this  morning  some  very  complimen- 
tary remarks  in  relation  to  Austin  College  and  my- 
self; but  a  good  substantial  vote  would  please  me 
much  more.     My  time  is  very  precious." 

On  the  next  Sabbath  he  not  only  preached  morn- 
ing and  night,  but  made  in  the  afternoon  a  special 
address  to  professing  Christians,  in  accordance  with 
his  invariable  rule,  to  speak  as  often  as  possible  of 
that  blessed  Saviour,  to  preach  whom  was  his  delight 
and  business  in  life.  He  was  quite  hoarse  in  the 
morning,  more  so  at  the  afternoon  service,  and  so 
much  so  at  night  that  he  could  hardly  speak.  In 
rising  to  take  his  text  at  night,  he  remarked  that  he 
was  about  to  preach  a  sermon  which,  if  he  knew  when 
he  was  to  die,  he  would  choose  as  his  last;  and  this 
because  the  sermon  was  full  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  a 
degree  unusual  even  in  his  preaching.  It  is  Sermon 
III.  in  the  First  Series  of  his  Revival  Sermons; 
preached  in  accordance  with  a  request  of  an  elder  of 
the  Austin  church,  with  which  he  gladly  complied. 
He  paused  a  moment  after  making  the  remark,  as  if 
considering  what  he  had  said,  and  then  solemnly 
repeated  the  remark.     And  it  was  his  last  sermon ! 

Those  then  present  will  never  forget  the  ardent 
though  struggling  words  in  which,  for  the  last  time 
on  earth,  he  spoke  from  the  pulpit  of  the  excel- 
lency of  Christ,  the  one  Mediator  between  God  and 
man.  At  the  outset  of  his  ministry,  this  Saviour 
had  been  his  one  theme.  As  we  have  seen,  his  first 
sermon  was  from  Eph.  ii.  8 :  "By  grace  are  ye  saved, 
through  faith;  and  that  not  of  yourselves:  it  is  the 
gift  of  God."      Forty  years  had  he  preached  this 


550  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

Jesus,  wherever  and  whenever  he  could.  Who  can 
tell  how  often,  or  to  how  many]  And  who  can  tell 
the  number  of  "sheep  going  astray,"  who,  during 
these  forty  years  of  incessant  preaching,  were  "re- 
turned," by  his  instrumentality,  "unto  the  Shepherd 
and  Bishop  of  souls'?"  Scarce  a  conjecture  even  can 
be  made  of  the  number.  And  now,  as  Jesus  Christ 
was  the  beginning,  so  "  the  end  of  his  conversation" 
too,  was  "  Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day, 
and  for  ever." 

His  son,  being  in  the  pulpit  with  him,  having 
unbounded  faith  in  the  ability  to  preach,  of  a  father 
whom  he  never  knew  to  decline  an  opportunity  of 
preaching,  regarding  the  hoarseness  as  a  slight  and 
passing  matter,  and  eager  for  a  protracted  meeting, 
such  as  had  been  so  greatly  blessed  wherever  he 
had  held  them,  gave  notice  that  his  father  would 
preach  the  next  (Monday)  night  again.  By  Monday 
night,  however,  his  hoarseness  had  so  increased  that 
this  was  impossible,  to  the  disappointment,  it  may 
be  said,  of  almost  all  professing  Christians  in  the 
community.  His  affection  of  the  throat  did  not 
prevent  him  from  writing  to  the  members  of  the 
Legislature  as  usual,  and  exerting  himself  in  every 
way  in  behalf  of  the  College.  He  was  fully  as 
cheerful  as  usual  at  the  fireside  and  the  table,  glow- 
ing with  life  and  hope,  and  full  of  pleasant  remark 
and  playful  rejoinder. 

During  this  week,  he  thus  writes  to  a  son  at 
Huntsville : 

"Austin,  December  5th,  1857. 

"  I  really  feel  thankful  to  you  and  your  mother  for 
your  joint  letter.     It  is  so  pleasant  to  receive  letters 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  551 

from  home  when  one  is  absent;  and  especially  when 
they  enter  into  details.  No  home  matters  are  unin- 
teresting to  him  whose  thoughts  and  affections  cluster 
around  his  own  domestic  circle.  I  have  been  sick  for 
something  more  than  a  week;  first  a  very  bad  cold, 
and  then  a  pain  in  my  breast — something  like  what 
is  called  angina  pectoiis.  I  am  going  about  now,  but 
do  not  know  that  I  shall  be  able  to  go  to  church  to- 
morrow, to  hear  your  brother  William.  I  hope  to 
be  able,  however,  to  start  homeward  on  Tuesday 
next.  I  long  to  be  at  home,  and  when  once  there,  I 
will  not  be  disposed  to  take  such  another  jaunt  for  a 
time,  at  least  on  horseback. 

"The  Legislature  have  so  many  things  before 
them,  that  our  College  matter  is  like  the  hexameter 
verse,  or  wounded  snake,  it  'drags  its  slow  length 
along.'  We  hope,  however,  that  in  due  time  some- 
thing will  be  done.  Rain,  rain,  rain !  O,  how  much 
rain!  The  river  is  impassable  here,  even  with  ferry- 
boats. I  wonder  if  I  shall  not  have  some  trouble  in 
getting  home.  W.  crossed  the  river  this  morning 
with  Dr.  Taylor.  It  is  night,  and  they  have  not 
returned ;  and  to-morrow  is  the  Sabbath,  and  I  can- 
not preach ;  but,  as  it  is  raining  still,  it  may  continue 
to  rain,  so  that  nobody  can  go  out.  Well,  it  is  all 
right.     The  will  of  the  Lord  be  done." 

His  son,  above  referred  to,  however,  managed  to 
return,  and  preached  morning  and  night.  No  lan- 
guage can  express  the  anxiety  of  that  son,  that 
his  father  might  yet  be  able  to  hold  a  protracted 
meeting  in  his  church.  The  peculiar  circumstances 
of  the  case  made  him  even  too  desirous  for  this. 


552  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

Nothing  ever  gave  that  father  so  much  pleasure  as 
such  a  meeting;  and,  of  all  places  in  the  world,  a 
meeting  in  the  church  of  his  own  son,  upon  which 
the  blessing  of  God  should  rest,  no  earthly  thing 
could  have  given  him  greater  pleasure.  Yet,  the 
perfect  calmness  of  the  father,  so  energetic,  so  ardent 
in  every  thing,  contrasted  strongly  with  the  feverish- 
ness  of  the  son.  It  was  not  that  he  did  not  desire 
the  object  as  heartily,  but  his  faith  in  God,  whose 
providence  prevented,  was  clear  and  complete.  No 
language  can  express  the  perfect  acquiescence  of  this 
servant  of  God,  in  the  will  of  his  Divine  Master,  in 
every  thing,  small  and  great.  Labouring  to  the 
utmost  of  his  power  for  the  College  and  the  cause 
of  Christ,  it  was  without  fever,  without  the  least 
perceptible  perturbation  of  manner,  or  even  of  feel- 
ing, no  matter  what  arose  to  cross  and  thwart.  And 
it  was  a  joyful  acquiescence  too;  something  almost 
awful  in  it;  something  of  the  serene  repose  of 
heaven,  the  calm  beatitude  of  a  saint  in  light. 

The  Sabbath  dawned — his  last  on  earth.  As  has 
been  said,  his  son  preached  on  that  day  in  his  church, 
which  was  in  full  view  from  the  chamber  to  which 
his  father  was  confined.  Sitting  by  a  table  at  the 
window  of  that  chamber,  he  thus  writes  to  the  pastor 
whose  church  he  had  promised  to  visit  on  his  way 
back  to  Huntsville.  The  entire  letter  is  given — it 
was  his  last. 

"Austin,  December  Gth,  (Sunday,)  1857. 

"Dear  Brother  Wilson — I  have  been  sick,  quite 
sick,  for  more  than  a  week  past.  This  day  I  looked 
out  from  my  chamber  upon  William's  church,  and 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  553 

saw  crowds  wending  their  way,  at  the  sound  of  the 
church-going  bell,  to  the  temple  of  God;  but  I  could 
not  go  myself,  even  to  hear  my  own  son.  These 
things  being  so,  I  thought  I  would  drop  you  a  line 
to  let  you  know  that  it  is  quite  possible  that  I  may 
not  be  able  to  be  with  you  at  Concord  next  Sabbath. 
I  hope,  however,  I  shall;  but  really  from  my  present 
state  of  health,  I  can  say  nothing  positive  even  about 
Wheelock.  But  one  thing  I  will  say— I  wish  to 
come,  and  will,  if  not  providentially  prevented. 
Pray  for  me. 

"Yours,  fraternally, 

Daniel  Baker." 

When  his  son  returned  from  church,  he  told  him 
how  delightful  it  had  been  to  him,  to  sit  at  his 
window  looking  at  the  church,  thinking  that  he  had 
a  son  then  preaching  therein  the  glorious  gospel — 
"  and  I  now  feel  willing  to  go,"  added  tliis  man  of 
God. 

On  Monday,  feeling  somewhat  better,  he  had 
made  up  his  mind  to  leave  for  home,  having  accom- 
plished all  in  his  power  for  the  College.  Against 
this  his  son  earnestly  protested.  But  in  vain  was 
he  urged  to  remain  in  order  to  preach  more. 
Aware  that  his  father  acted  promptly  when  his 
mind  was  once  made  up,  the  son  resorted  to  one 
last  device  to  detain  him.  As  agent  of  the  College, 
his  father  was  engaged  daily  in  obtaining  subscrip- 
tions to  the  endowment  of  a  Professorship,  the 
coupon  blank-book  of  which  endowment  lay  upon 
the  table  while  they  conversed.  When  all  other 
motives  for  remaining  had  been  urged  in  vain,  the 
47 


654:  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

son  drew  the  book  to  him,  and  offered  himself  to 
subscribe  one  hundred  dollars  to  the  endowment, 
if  his  father  would  remain  over  another  Sabbath. 
The  father  hesitated.  As  agent  for  the  College, 
ought  he  to  decline  such  an  offer'?  He  accepted 
the  condition;  the  subscription  was  entered,  and 
stands  on  the  books  of  the  College  the  last  dona- 
tion obtained  by  its  agent!  This  matter  being 
thus  settled  on  Monday,  in  the  afternoon  of  that 
day,  the  father  accompanied  his  son  along  the 
streets  of  Austin  for  a  walk.  He  walked  quite 
slowly,  however,  leaning  upon  the  arm  of  his  son, 
and  would  often  stop,  complaining  of  shortness  of 
breath;  in  every  other  respect  he  seemed  the  same 
as  ever,  as  full  of  life  and  pleasant  talk.  Having  lost 
the  key  of  his  watch,  he  called  on  one  or  two  jewel- 
lers ;  they  had  none  but  of  gold,  and  he  would  buy 
none  but  a  steel  one.  "  What  is  the  use,"  he  said, 
"of  my  spending  anything  upon  myself,  who  am  to 
be  in  this  world  for  such  a  little  while  1 — it  will  give 
me  pleasure  to  get  anything  for  3/01^."  But  this  was 
only  common  with  him;  those  things  ever  gave  him 
most  pleasure  which  he  purchased  for  others.  "I 
take  vastly  more  pleasure  in  seeing  you  enjoy  it  than 
in  using  it  myself,"  would  be  his  remark. 

After  tea,  on  Monday  night,  feeling  somewhat 
refreshed,  he  insisted  upon  going  out  again  to  call 
upon  an  influential  member  of  the  Legislature.  In 
vain  he  was  urged  not  to  do  so.  "No,  something 
important  may  be  accomplished  for  the  College,"  he 
said.  It  was  not  that  he  was  rash  or  imprudent; 
so  unaccustomed  was  he  to  sickness,  or  to  failing 
to  do  at  the  moment  whatever   seemed  to  be  pos- 


REV.    DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  555 

sible   to   be   done    then,    that   he   persisted   in   his 
intention. 

Before  he  had  reached  the  house  of  the  member, 
often  stopping  upon  the  way  to  breathe,  leaning 
heavily  upon  the  arm  of  his  son,  he  regretted  having 
made  the  attempt.  Having  arrived  at  the  house, 
and  seated  upon  the  sofa  in  conversation,  though 
unable  to  rise  when  the  gentleman  first  entered  the 
room,  he  urged  the  claims  of  the  College  as  earnestly 
and  powerfully  as  ever  before  in  his  life.  It  was 
with  great  difficulty  that  he  returned  home.  That 
night  his  son  slept  in  the  chamber  with  him,  to 
anticipate  every  want;  but  more  than  once  during 
the  night  he  was  wakened  by  his  father  walking 
across  the  room  to  wait  on  himself,  rather,  with  his 
habitual  unselfishness,  than  disturb  his  son's  slum- 
bers. Towards  morning,  however,  he  awoke  his 
son;  an  idea  had  occurred  to  him  in  regard  to  the 
College,  and  to  the  College  every  thing  must  give 
way.  He  then  detailed,  one  by  one,  ten  "strong 
reasons,"  as  he  styled  them,  why  the  State  should 
grant  aid  to  the  College.  Next  morning  he  was  not 
content  until  they  had  been  written  out,  printed,  and 
arrangements  made  to  place  a  copy  upon  the  table 
of  every  member  of  the  Legislature. 

During  Tuesday  and  Wednesday  his  feebleness 
seemed  to  increase.  As  usual  with  him,  he  was 
frequent  in  expressions  of  gratitude  to  Dr.  M.  A. 
Taylor,  his  skilful  physician,  who  was  also  his  host; 
and  a  great  anxiety  was  manifested  to  give  as  little 
trouble  as  possible.  The  conversations  had  with 
his  son  and  daughter  at  this  time  will  never  be  for- 
gotten by  them.     He  did  not  seem  to  know  whether 


656  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

he  was  dangerously  ill  or  not,  but  with  perfect  calm- 
ness and  quietness  of  spirit  he  made  various  remarks, 
"in  case,"  he  said,  "I  should  die" — speaking  of  such 
an  event  with  gravity,  but  perfect  unconcern.  At 
one  time  he  alluded  to  the  controversy  then  going  on 
in  regard  to  the  Revision  movement  in  the  American 
Bible  Society.  Without  expressing  any  opinion  on 
the  constitutional  question  involved,  he  spoke  of  his 
decided  preference  for  Bibles  without  any  headings 
at  all  to  the  chapters — the  pure  word  of  God,  with- 
out even  the  least  human  admixture  of  any  kind; 
and  he  repeated  his  often  expressed  dislike  for  Bibles 
having  the  Apocrypha,  or  even  pictures  in  them. 
Speaking  of  the  prospect  that  the  State  would  not 
aid  the  College,  he  dwelt  with  pleasure  upon  his 
contemplated  visit  to  England.  He  thought  that  he 
might  be  able  to  obtain  something  for  the  endow- 
ment, and  that  perhaps  the  same  blessing  in  the 
conversion  of  souls  might  attend  him  there  as  else- 
where. This,  however,  like  every  thing  else,  he  left 
serenely  in  the  hands  of  God.  "  Every  thing  is  per- 
fectly dark  before  me,"  he  often  said,  "but  I  walk 
like  a  child,  with  my  hand  in  that  of  my  Heavenly 
Father;  he  will  lead  me  aright."  Little  did  those 
who  heard  him  thus  speak,  imagine  how  that  Father 
was  then  drawing  his  toil-worn  child  to  himself. 
"All  my  life  I  have  walked  as  in  a  fog,"  he  said: 
"I  never  could  see  far  before  me;  but  it  always 
opened  up  clearly  as  I  advanced." 

On  "Wednesday  night  Dr.  Baker  sat  until  past  ten 
o'clock  in  conversation  with  his  children  and  grand- 
children. It  pleased  God,  that  to  the  moment  of  his 
death  he  knew  nothing  of  the  decrepitude  of  old  age 


REV.   DANIEL   BAKER,   D.  D.  55T 

either  in  body  or  mind.  Never  was  he  more  ani- 
mated in  conversation  than  at  this  time.  For  some 
time,  seated  in  his  chair,  making  shadows  with  his 
hands  upon  the  wall  for  his  grandchildren,  he  shared 
fully  in  their  merriment,  and  it  was  with  reluctance 
that  he  retired  at  last  to  rest. 

About  midnight  he  was  seized  with  great  difficulty 
in   breathing,  arising   from   diseased   action  of  the 
heart.     His  physician  relieved  him  for  a  time,  but 
before  day  he  was  taken  with  another  and  more  vio- 
lent paroxysm.     This,  however,  was  also  relieved. 
During  all  this  time  he  was  as  calm  as  in  ordinary 
life.     When,  at  his  request,  his  son  prayed  by  his 
bedside  for   his  recovery,  he   gently  but   decidedly 
rebuked  him  on  rising.     "I  asked  you  to  pray  for 
the  presence  of  God  with  me,  not  for  my  recovery." 
Meanwhile  he  had  arranged  all  his  temporal  matters, 
and  expressed  himself  freely  and  frequently,  yet  with 
perfect  calmness,  in  regard  to  the  possibility  of  his 
dying.     In  regard  to  the  College,  he  exercised  only 
his  usual  faith  when  he  remarked,  that  if  God  took 
him  away,  it  was  because  the  interest  of  that  Insti- 
tution would  in  some  way  be  promoted  thereby.     In 
fact,  there  was  no  apprehension,  no  fear,  no  rapture, 
no  excitement  of  any  kind.     His  faith  in  God,  his 
sense  of  acceptance  in  Christ,  his  anticipations  of 
heaven — these  were  so  much  his  habitual   thought 
and  experience  in  daily  life  for  so  many  years,  that 
the  being  brought  to  the  verge  of  eternity  caused 
him  to  think  and  feel  in  regard  to  them  no  more 
than  he  was  already  in  the  habit  of  doing;  for  near 
half  a  century  his   religion  had  been,  literally,  his 
life. 

47* 


558  LIFE   AND   LABOURS   OF   THE 

During  Thursday  morning  he  remained  in  bed, 
receiving,  it  need  not  be  said,  the  unremitting  care 
of  those  who  regarded  the  privilege  of  so  doing  as 
among  the  most  precious  of  their  life.  In  the  course 
of  the  morning  a  religious  journal  was  brought  in 
from  the  post-office ;  he  read  a  portion  of  it,  and  the 
rest  was  read  to  him  by  his  son,  he  making  frequent 
and  often  playful  comments.  At  one  time  while  his 
daughter  was  attending  on  him,  something  occurred 
at  which  he  even  indulged  in  laughter.  During  the 
afternoon  he  requested  his  son  to  read  from  the 
Scriptures.  Turning  to  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  first 
Corinthians,  the  writer  read  it  to  the  end.  At  the 
conclusion,  seeing  his  father  lie  still,  and  with  closed 
eyes,  he  turned  to  another  part  of  Scripture,  and 
began  to  read,  when  his  father  motioned  with  his 
hand  to  stop;  the  tears  streaming  from  his  eyes, 
and  the  quivering  of  his  lips  as  he  attempted  in 
rain  to  speak,  showed,  that  in  the  passage  already 
read,  there  was  that  which  filled  his  mind — it  could 
contain  no  more. 

About  half-past  fiYe  o'clock  on  Thursday  after- 
noon, December  10th — the  same  day  that  his  son  sat 
by  his  bed — in  turning  upon  his  left  side,  he  was 
seized  with  the  same  difficulty  of  breathing.  Calling 
others  in,  the  son  was  absent  a  short  time  to  sum- 
mon the  physician.  Just  before,  in  the  course  of 
conversation,  his  father  had  said  to  him,  "William, 
my  son,  if  I  should  die,  I  want  this  epitaph  carved 
on  my  tomb — '  Here  lies  Daniel  Baker,  Preacher  of 
the  Gospel.  A  Sinner  Saved  by  Grace.'  Remem- 
ber," he  added,  "A  Sinner  Saved  hy  Grace''  Even 
then  that  son  could  not  believe  his  father's  death 


REV.   DANIEL  BAKER,   D.  D.  559 

SO  near.  One  so  full  of  life — so  overflowing  with 
health — it  was  impossible.  One  so  much  needed, 
too,  for  the  College,  and  in  the  Church  of  God!  I^ 
was  impossible!  But  when  his  son  returned  with 
the  physician,  the  swift  and  sudden  messenger  from 
God  was  there  before  him.  His  father,  seated  upon 
the  bedside,  and  labouring  for  breath,  bore  upon  his 
face  the  ashen  hue  of  death.  "My  son,"  he  ex- 
claimed, reaching  out  his  arms  to  his  son  as  he 
entered  the  door,  "My  son,  my  dear  son,  you  are 
back  in  time  to  see  your  father  die !"  Seating  him- 
self beside  him  on  the  bed,  and  encircling  his  robust 
frame  in  his  arms,  that  son  could  only  agonize  in 
such  prayer  as  rarely  rends  the  bosom  of  man  with 
the  fervour  of  its  silent  importunity,  that  a  life  so 
precious  might  be  spared.  But  it  was  a  nearer  and 
dearer  Eelative  who  was  taking  him  away  from  all 
earthly  relationships  to  his  own  bosom.  Seated 
there,  in  the  full  vigour  of  his  remarkable  general 
health,  in  the  unclouded  use  of  his  intellect,  moro 
composedly  even  than  in  his  usual  addresses  to  the 
throne  of  grace,  he  lifted  his  eyes  to  heaven,  and 
exclaimed,  in  the  serene  exercise  of  a  perfect  faith, 
"  Lord  Jesus,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit !" 
As  the  last  word  passed  his  lips,  he  closed  his  eyes 
on  earth,  to  open  them  for  ever  on  the  face  of  that 
Saviour,  whom,  not  having  seen,  he  so  loved. 

Let  the  reader  of  the  Life  and  Labours  of  this 
man  of  God  draw  for  himself  from  these  pages  such 
lessons  of  wisdom  as  they  afford.  The  Christian 
whom  God  has  not  called  to  the  ministry,  may  derive 
hence,  fresh  impulse  in  the  service  of  the  same  Mas- 


560  LIFE   OF   REY.   DANIEL  BAKER,   D.  D. 

ter,  whatever  be  the  sphere  of  life  in  which  that 
Master,  for  his  own  glorious  purposes,  has  placed  his 
blood-bought  servant.  And  he  who  contemplates 
entering,  or  has  already  entered  the  ministry,  let 
him,  as  he  closes  this  volume,  first  kneeling  in 
prayer  for  Divine  assistance,  arise  and  go  out  into 
the  world  with  loins  newly  girded,  resolved  by  the 
grace  of  God  to  equal,  or  if  possible,  excel  him 
whose  history  is  herein  attempted  to  be  portrayed. 
The  same  throne  of  grace  whence  he  obtained  all 
his  power  for  good  is  equally  open  to  all  alike 
through  Jesus  Christ.  "After  he  had  served  his 
own  generation  by  the  will  of  God,  he  fell  on  sleep," 
joining  in  heaven  the  multitudes  of  Hke-minded 
servants  of  God,  who  had  gone  before  him  in  labour 
and  in  reward.  "Wherefore,  seeing  we  also  are 
compassed  about  with  so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses, 
let  us  lay  aside  every  weight,  and  the  sin  which  doth 
so  easily  beSet  us,  and  let  us  run  with  patience  the 
race  that  is  set  before  us,  looking  unto  Jesus,  the 
Author  and  Finisher  of  our  faith." 


THE    END. 


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